Pirates of the Caribbean- Angelica returns
by peytonrm
Summary: Jack and Angelica have a daughter together, and it changes everything
1. Chapter 1- Treasure

Chapter 1

Joshua Gibbs, the closest thing to a friend captain Jack Sparrow would ever have, a grey-bearded man in his late fifties, had some big news for his captain. As he quickly pased past hard working pirates aboard the Black Pearl, he heard Jack calling out orders to them. ''Jack!'', Gibbs yelled from a few feet away. Jack Sparrow turned around and raised his eyebrows when he saw his sweaty friend coming at him. ''Master Gibbs!'', he smiled. Gibbs ran the last few metres and came to a sudden halt, breathing heavily and supporting his weight on the wooden railing of the ship. ''I- I've got news'', he said. Gibbs took a deep breath and nodded. ''An oppurtunity, as it were'', the sweaty pirate explained. Jack raised his eyebrows and widened his eyes, so allowing Gibbs to go on. ''General Nathaniel George is giving a party tonight in his house. Elite and fancy-pancy people only, aye?'', he continued. ''I say, we crash the party, we steal some gold, some silver, maybe a woman, or.. or two, and then we leave. The captain frowned and chuckled. ''Master Gibbs, I can't remember there ever being a time you, of all people, wanted to crash and rob a respected general''. Although Gibbs was a very intelligent man, he was a pirate, yet he never voluntarily terrorized people that didn't hurt him or his loved ones. ''No, but, captain, it's about your debt with Barbossa, see? If you steal enough gold and silverware tonight, maybe Barbossa will accept those goodie-goodies as your payment'', Gibbs further explained his plan. Jack's face lit up and a slow smile spread across his face. A few weeks, or was it months (?) ago, he had stolen from Barbossa. Barbossa sadly found out and told him to give him back a treasure, or he would take Jack's life as a payment. So, if he'd steal enough gold, silver and jewels, he could pay the angry captain back and he could live to see another sunrise, because, as it were, Barbossa had been following him overseas for the past week. His ship was just kilometres behind, waiting for the oppertunity to attack the Black Pearl and behead its captain. It gave everyone, including the brave captain Jack Sparrow, the creeps. Jack laughed and nodded immediately. ''Mate, you truly are a genius at times'', he answered. ''Great! We'll do it. Inform Barbossa and set sail to wherever this fancy general lives''.

Six hours and, a lot of big waves later, the Black Pearl's crew left the harbor of Port Victoria, where they had left the ship, and walked straight through town. Nathaniel George's home was located on top of a big hill, with view all over Port Victoria. Night was beginning to fall, stars appeared, and most people were getting ready for bed, or drinking. Except for the rich, of course, who were all underway to George's party. The pirates were greeted by loud orchestra music and the smell of amazing food as they walked up to the house. Jack, who walked in front, smiled widely. ''No guards. Not yet'', Marty informed them. Jack nodded. ''Gibbs, Cotton and Pintel, you three come with me. The rest of you, get upstairs and steal what you can, savvy?''. The pirates smiled widely and clapped their hands together excitedely. ''We'll cause all the distraction you need'', Gibbs added to the words of his captain. The crew split up, Sparrow, Gibbs and Pintel walked up to the front door as all the others walked around the house, searching for a way to sneak in and upstairs. ''These poor souls have no idea what's outside their ballroom'', Pintel said, and he chuckled softly. Jack Sparrow grinned and walked through the gate, right up to the front door, which was open. But as soon as he came closer, he saw two guards standing with their backs to the door. ''Idiots'', Gibbs whispered. Jack looked at him, then towards Pintel, and nodded. With a quick, determined movement, Gibbs and Pintel grabbed the two guards, covered their mouths and dragged them out of the house, into the bushes. For a few seconds, the bushes shook heavily, and the sound of mumbled screams echoed through the summer air. Then, it stopped, Gibbs and Pintel appeared and smiled at their captain. ''Believe I hurt me back, fellah was a heavy one'', Pintel mumbled. Jack rolled his eyes and pointed to the front door with his thumbs. Behind the windows of the bedrooms, a glow that could only be the glow of a candle appeared. The pirates were in, quickly and without noises. Quickly, Gibbs and Pintel walked after their captain, into the great hall. The closed the door and shut the drapes in front of the windows. As was often the case with the rich men, everything in sight was either gold, marble and made by the finest craftmen of all time. ''Damn'', Pintel sighed. ''Right on'', Jack answered with a wide smile. ''C'mon, let's go inside, see what pretty people walk around there'', he then said, and with a wide smile they walked into the enormous ballroom that was filled with men in wigs, women in tight dresses, loud music and the smell of hot food. Jack's stomach rumbled, but he didn't let it distract him. They could dissapear in the crowd easily, so stealing in this place would be no problem, as long as they wouldn't draw attention to themselves.

As the party continued, no one noticed the three pirates downstairs, and no one noticed the rest of the crew that was upstairs. Jack and Gibbs filled their pockets with food and women's jewelry they were able to steal. ''Cap'n, we got the gold and the silver and jewels, time to go?'', Gibbs said after a few minutes. But Jack's dark eyes had fallen on a woman's back. She was over three feet away from him and he couldn't see her face, but he had seen her more often this night, and something about her looked familiar to him. The woman was wearing a tight, bodyhugging red dress, she had gold in her ears and around her wrist, and her long, dark hear was pinned up with a jade coloured hairpin. ''Cap'n?'', Gibbs repeated after not getting an answer. He followed the captain's gaze and raised one eyebrow, then looking back at Jack. ''Cap'n, I mean no disrespect but maybe we-'', he started, but Jack raised his hand as a sign he'd better stop talking. Then, just as Jack recognized the woman that stood right across from him, she turned around, and Jack held his breath. Angelica. He hadn't seen her in two years, since he'd left her on the island, he never heard from her again. She was skinnier, looked better, she had a blush on her face, and Jack noticed two things. One; she had an enormous diamond on her left hand, obviously a wedding ring. And two; she was looking directly at him too, and just like he, she was holding her breath, and their eyes locked.


	2. Chapter 2- Captain Barbossa

Chapter 2

It took Angelica a few seconds to realize who she was looking at, but once she understood Jack Sparrow was standing two feet away from her, she suddenly started moving. With quick, angry pases, she walked up to Jack. She grabbed his arm roughly and pulled him away from the public's eye, then pushing him into the wall. ''What are you doing here?!'', she yelled, her Spanish accent sounding through all of the words she spoke. Jack smiled and softly touched her cheek with his fingers, so that she hit his hand and Jack pulled it back quickly. ''Well, I am... - visiting'', the captain said quickly. Angelica's lips were pushed together and her dark eyes were filled with fury as she looked at him. ''I want you to go, now!'', she answered angrily. ''You haven't seen me in two years, and this is how you welcome me back?'', Jack frowned. Angelica's eyebrows raised slowly, and with a sudden movement, she hit him right in the face, causing Jack's head to twist to the side. ''You left me there! On the island! Alone! I don't ever want to see you again!'', Angelica called out, hitting him on his chest. Jack grabbed her wrists and pulled her close to him, looking directly into her eyes. ''Well, darling, here I am, aren't I?'', he smiled. The Spanish pirate, dressed in a red, tight dress, covered in expensive juwelry, clenched her fists together and pulled her wrists free from Jack's hands. ''Leave this house. Now''. Jack frowned. ''It ain't yer house, dearie'', he whispered softly. Angelica's angry face changed into an ice-cold smile, she crossed her arms and raised one eyebrow while she looked at him. ''It is, and I want you to leave''. Jack frowned and laughed loudly for a few seconds, where after he stopped and looked at her, a little confused. ''I did my research, love, it ain't your house. General Nathaniel George lives here'', he answered. ''Yes. He, and his wife''. It took him a few seconds to process what she said, but after a few seconds, Jack suddenly understood that Angelica was indeed married. To Nathaniel George. ''You.. you have been tied down? That Spanish vixen pirate? No'', he spoke softly. ''How?''.  
Angelica opened her mouth to answer when suddenly, a tall man dressed in uniform walked up to them, holding a little girl in his arms. Jack immediately knew that this was Nathaniel George, and that meant that they were caught. No treasure. No money. And Barbossa would try to kill him. Again. ''Jack Sparrow'', George smiled with a mocking, sarcastic tone. ''Captain Jack Sparrow'', the pirate immediately told him. George smiled again and slowly shook his head, sighing in disbelief. ''I heard a lot about you. I know that pirates are not incredibly clever, but I never would've thought you were stupid enough to try and rob me'', he sighed. Jack didn't say anything. Angelica took the little girl from his arms and turned her little head away from Jack, as if he was a scary monster. ''Why did you bring her here? I told you not to bring her to the party!'', Angelica hissed at her husband. Nathaniel rolled his blue eyes and smiled at her. ''She wouldn't go to sleep. The maid brought here to me, and is my duty, I bring her to her mother''. Jack's eyebrows shot up in the air and his face turned to Angelica. ''You are her mother?!'', he called out in surprise. The small baby, who couldn't be older than two years, started crying when she heard the loud, unknown voice yelling behind her. ''Oh, Sophia, _está bien_ '', Angelica hushed the young child. ''No Spanish, Angelica. We're not in Europe'', Nathaniel immediately said to his wife. Angelica ignored his comment and looked up at her husband. ''Get him away from here'', was all she said, and then she walked away, softly rocking the little girl in her arms. Before she turned the corner, Nathaniel grabbed Jack's collar and pushed him against the wall. ''Listen, filthy pirate. You made a big mistake by invading my home and harassing my wife. I will make you wish you never walked the earth'', the general spit out. Jack looked at him, not amused, until he finally answered. ''Mate, I'm going to tell ya some'ing you should know. Can't tame a pirate. Especially not Angelica. She's a wild beast, unpredictable, nobody and nothing owns her, aye?'', Jack spoke with a soft voice. Nathaniel smiled a cold smile and grabbed his throath, so dragging him back into the ballroom, towards the doors. But once they turned the corner, the both of them stood still immediately. The guests were driven into one corner of the room, the guards lied dead on the floor, and Jack's crew (without treasures) was standing against the wall. Before them, there was another crew, pointing there guns at everyone that moved, chewing on food. The orchestra had stopped playing. Out of the shadows stepped a man, a captain, and he smiled at Jack while holding his gun in one hand, and holding a crabcake in the other. ''We meet again, Jack Sparrow'', said a loud voice. Jack pulled a disgusted face when he recognized Barbossa. ''I assume you got me a treasure, aye?'', Barbossa asked as he raised his gun and put it to Jack's forehead.


	3. Chapter 3- Yours!

Chapter 3

Jack Sparrow smiled an apologetic smile and shrugged softly. ''Well-'', he started, but Barbossa cut him off by pulling the safety pin on his gun. ''Do, you, have, my treasure?'', the captain asked angrily. ''No'', Jack answered after a few seconds of silence. Barbossa's cruel smile dissapeared, and with a quick movement of his arm, he smashed his gun into Jack's face. The wounded captain lost his balance and fell to the floor, but two of Barbossa's men grabbed him and roughly pulled him up. While blood was pouring from Jack's nose and Jack was cursing softly, Barbossa turned around to face the crowd in the ballroom.

''Which lucky bastard is the owner of this house?'', he demanded. The crowd started whispering softly, but no one stepped forward. Barbossa raised his eyebrows. ''Who?'', he asked again. His voice was softer, calmer, but threatening. ''This one! Right here!'', Jack suddenly yelled, pointing to general Nathaniel George next to him. Barbossa turned around and looked at Jack, pointing his bloody hand at the dark-haired, fancy looking man next to him. George clenched his teeth together and made fists of his hand. ''Is that true?'', Barbossa asked the general while walking up to him. At first, the man didn't answer, but once the pirate stood still right in front of him, he nodded. Barbossa smiled and his rotten, yellow teeth appeared from under his lips. ''Now, I imagine a man like you has a beautiful wife, aye? Where is she?''. Jack looked at Barbossa, frowning, wondering what the hell Barbossa wanted with Nathaniel George's wife, Angelica. Jack knew it wouldn't mean anything good if Barbossa found out who she was. Firstly, she was rich, but secondly and most importantly, Angelica and her father, Blackbeard, weren't exactly friends of captain Barbossa. Blackbeard wouldn't have hesitated to kill Barbossa, and Barbossa wouldn't have hesitated to kill him, or his daughter. George didn't speak, and the guests in the corner of the room started whispering again. Jack kept his mouth shut, and for a few seconds, he believed that George would keep his mouth shut too, but once Barbossa grabbed his gun and put it to George's head, he spit out her name like it was poison. ''Angelica. There, in the red dress''. Everyone could hear the trembling of his voice. Barbossa's eyebrows went up and he spinned around to face the crowd, searching between the women in the red dresses, until he finally saw a very familiar face.

Angelica was still holding her daughter on her arm, her hand on the back of the little girl's head as her dark eyes flashed from Barbossa to her husband, who had just given her up to an angry captain. ''Ah, my dear Angelica'', Barbossa whispered as he walked up to her. Angelica, like she had always done, grabbed the first sharp thing she could find, in this case, a knife, and clenched it in her fist. ''Stay away'', she warned Barbossa. Once Barbossa saw the fear in her eyes, he realised it wasn't for her own safety, her fear went out to the safety of the girl in her arms. ''Oh my, is that your child?'', the captain laughed loudly. Nathaniel made a desperate attempt to get to his wife and child, but Barbossa's men tightened their grip around his arms, and he didn't move one bit. ''Leave, now'', Angelica commanded the captain. Barbossa grinned and nodded. ''Yes, I see. She's a beauty ain't she?''. Like a mother is ought to do, she stepped away from Barbossa once he reached out his hand to little Sophia. ''Leave her alone, she has nothing to do with this'', she said to him in a somewhat begging tone. Barbossa grinned once more. ''Empty this ballroom and leave to the ship, I found my treasure!'', the captain yelled his command. Immediately, the pirates started yelling excitedly. They grabbed all the food from the tables, grabbed all the flasks of wine. They pulled jewelrey from women's necks and wrists, took the orchestra's instruments and grabbed everything valuable in their path while screaming and singing and laughing. The people in the ballroom screamed and started running. The sound of shots being fired echoed through the ballroom and with every guest that fell dead to the floor, the sound of screaming got louder. In all of the chaos, Jack and his men freed themselves from Barbossa's pirates and started making their way to their exit, but when Jack heard a screaming, cursing, begging Spanish voice, he stopped walking and turned around. '' _Te mataré!''._ As two men grabbed Angelica and pulled on her dress, Barbossa grasped Sophia from her mother's arms. ''No! NO! You bastard! _Pendejo_! I will kill you!'', Angelica screamed as she tried to get to her daughter. ''LET HER GO!''. Sophia was crying uncontrollably, Barbossa was laughing as he was walking away from her, and the guests in the room screamed in absolute terror as bodies fell down to the floor.

''Jack! We have to go, come on!'', Gibbs said to his captain as he shook his shoulder. Jack wanted to, he really wanted to leave, safe his life, though he couldn't. He couldn't give a damn about Nathaniel George or the guests if he tried, but to see how Angelica desperately tried to fight the two men holding her, cursing and screaming and begging, fighting for her daughter that was taken away by Barbossa's men, something in him kept him from leaving. ''Go to the ship, make it ready, go!'', Jack commanded Gibbs. For a few seconds, Gibbs stared at his captain in disbelief, but then he nodded, collected the crew and ran towards the doors. Barbossa's men were leaving too, one by one, with gold and jewelry and food in their hands, laughing and screaming. Others stayed behind to terrorize the guests or to empty the last bowl of crabcakes. Barbossa himself was nowhere to be found, and Sophia was gone. Just like Nathaniel George, Angelica's husband and Sophia's father. Still, Angelica kept fighting, trying to make her way towards the exit. Her pinned up hair fell down onto her back and though she wore heels on her feet, she was able to punch and kick the men that held her a few times. With quick pases, against the stream, while guests ran out of the ballroom, screaming, Jack ran to Angelica's aid. One of the two pirates grabbed a knife from his pocket, pulled Angelica's face close to his and smiled. ''Bye bye, doll'', he grinned. Just as he wanted to plunge the knife into Angelica's throath, Jack pulled his sword and stabbed the pirate right through his stomach. When the other pirate turned around to face the attacker, Jack had already freed his sword from the pirate's flesh, and slashed the other pirate's throath. As both of them fell to the ground, bleeding heavily and gurgling in their own blood, Angelica kicked off her heels and ran towards the exit. Immediately, Jack chased her, grabbed both of her arms and pushed her into the wall. ''NO! JACK! Let me go!'', she screamed in absoluty anger. She hit Jack in his chest, on his arms and nearly in his face, but he refused to let her go. ''CALM DOWN! You can't, you can't go after them, they will kill you!'', Jack yelled back at her, but Angelica kept fighting against his grip. ''Please! PLEASE!'', she begged, and at this point, Jack saw tears shining in her dark, Spanish eyes. He had never seen her cry. Never. And though it suprised him and took his breath away, he thought it might be tears from anger. ''JACK!'', Angelica screamed again, raising her hand to hit him. Jack grabbed her wrist, pushed it into the wall and pushed his chest onto hers, grabbing her face so she was pinned against the wall, and forced to look at him. ''Listen to me, they will kill you, shoot you as soon as you set foot on their deck. You will never get your daughter back on your own!'', Jack yelled at her. Angelica screamed a scream filled with anger and terror, but then she burst out into tears. While she was fighting his steady grip, and the tears rolled over her cheeks, she opened her mouth and frantically screamed: ''Don't you get it? She is YOURS! SOPHIA IS YOURS!''.


	4. Chapter 4 - A scorned man has revenge

Chapter 4

Jack Sparrow fell silent, a rare thing to happen to one of the most famous captains on all the seven seas. But right now, in this ballroom, with this frantic, crying Spanish woman pressed against the wall, he didn't know what to say. ''I told you!'', Angelica screamed, and with an angry movement of her hand, she pushed his chest off her. ''I told you! I told you I was with child, yours! Your baby and you left me!'', she yelled at him, hitting his chest while tears rolled down her cheeks. ''And now she's gone! SHE'S GONE! MY DAUGHTER!''. As she screamed at him and kept hitting him, Jack didn't move. He didn't answer, and he didn't seem to feel her nails scratch over his skin. He froze. Part of him couldn't, and didn't want to believe that he had a daughter, that Angelica had told him the truth, that she had in fact been pregnant, with his baby, and that he left her on the island, alone, without food or water. The other part of him believed her, and for the first time in a very long time, he felt useful. He felt like maybe he finally did something good and maybe this was fate's way of telling him to keep himself together. Maybe he was meant to run into Angelica here, tonight.

When Jack finally heard Angelica's screaming, crying voice, and felt her hands smacking down on his body, he grabbed her wrists and looked into her teary eyes. ''Do not lie to me, Angelica'', he spoke in a soft, serious voice. Angelica's bottom lip trembled and she shook her head. ''I'm not! It is true! Sophia is your daughter'', she whispered, softly crying. Within a few seconds, her sadness and her desperation dissapeared, and her anger came up with full power. ''AND YOU LET BARBOSSA TAKE HER! _Pinche idiota_ , _vete a la mierda_ , _bastardo_!'', she screamed as she threw her fist onto his nose. A sudden pain caught the captain of guard, but he recovered fast. Jack quickly grasped her hand and pulled her along, out of the ballroom, through the chaos of screaming guests and yelling pirates, into the darkness of the night. Leave the guests, leave the food, leave Nathaniel George. Forget his pain. He couldn't care less. As he pulled Angelica along with him, towards the lights of the harbor, his heart raced in his chest. Still, he didn't know whether to believe her or not. He couldn't actually remember Angelica and him.. you know, doing stuff. But yes, she had told him that he was drunk. So maybe, just for this one time, she was telling the truth, and he had a daughter. And maybe, she was using his weakness for innocent children to get Nathaniel's daughter back. ''What are you doing?!'', Angelica screamed as Jack pulled her along. ''Getting Sophia back, ain't that what you want?'', Jack answered while running. Angelica stopped running in surprise and looked at him for a few seconds. She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but then she changed her mind, pushed her lips together, kicked off her heels and started running again.

As quickly as they could, they made way into the harbor and ran onto the deck of the Pearl, where Jack's crew was anxiously making the ship ready. Gibbs came up to his captain and frowned, looking from Angelica to him. ''After Barbossa's ship. Now, make sail'', Jack ordered him. Gibbs frowned. ''What are we doing, cap'n?'', he asked nervously. ''Getting the child back, Gibbs, what else?'', Jack answered sarcastically, frantically moving his hands around. Gibbs slowly nodded and turned around as he yelled orders to the crew to make the ship ready.

''ANGELICA! GET BACK HERE, NOW!'', a loud voice suddenly yelled. Angelica and Jack both turned around quickly. He was standing on the pier, his clothes were torn, his nose was bleeding, and his hair was completely messed up. Jack looked at Nathaniel for a second and stepped forward, but Angelica grabbed his arm and pulled him away. ''Go back to your guests, I am going after my daughter!'', Angelica yelled back at him. Nathaniel laughed sarcastically. ''My guests? MY GUESTS?! Your guests. You're not leaving me, YOU BITCH!'', he screamed as he raised his sword and pointed it at her. Again, Jack stepped forward, but once again Angelica pushed him aside and walked towards him, onto the pier. ''Damn you, you bastard! Sophia is my daughter'', she hissed at him. Jack could see Nathaniel's fingers clenching around his sword, and he followed Natheniel's every move as he walked towards his wife. ''I rescued you from that hellish place, I saved you. I love you!'', Nathaniel begged her in a soft voice. Jack rolled his eyes. ''I don't need your love'', Angelica answered as she pulled her wedding ring from her finger and threw it over her shoulder. Jack quickly grasped the ring out of the air and put it in his pocket. She didn't need it anymore, but a diamond like that would have no place on the bottom of the sea, so why not keep it? ''We're ready to sail, cap'n'', Gibbs whispered at Jack. Gibbs couldn't understand what was going on, but he suspected that Jack wouldn't explain anyway, so he didn't ask. Sparrow nodded and turned back to Angelica and Nathaniel. He didn't trust that fancy-pancy general for one little bit, and he wanted Angelica back on the ship, quickly as possible. Just as he wanted to tell Angelica to come aboard, he saw Nathaniel's hand grabbing his sword and viciously attacking his wife. She had no chance to defend herself, and no weapon to fight back. Jack's eyes widened, his heart started racing, and immediately moved his hand towards his hip. Right before the sharp blade of the sword pierced Angelica's body, there was a loud gunshot. The sword fell to the ground with a loud clattering sound, Nathaniel screamed out in anger and pain. Jack had his gun pointed at Nathaniel, as smoke left the barrel of his gun. ''Maybe you should think twice about hurting a woman, mate'', Jack said to him. Nathaniel looked from Jack's cold smile to Angelica's widened dark eyes, and within a second, his body was taken over by malice. He forgot his wounded hand and his pain. The general hit Angelica in her face, so hard that her body hit the ground and she screamed of pain. Before Jack, or anyone else, could do anything to help her, the scorned general grabbed his knife, slashed open Angelica's right cheek and kicked her in her stomach. Jack jumped onto the pier and threw himself upon Nathaniel, pulling him away from Angelica, who was desperately trying to fight back. Jack managed to throw him to the ground and quickly turned to Angelica, pulling her up with his hand. Just when Jack turned around to finish off general Nathaniel George, he felt a harsh pain and was thrown aside by the furious man. He was full of hate, towards his wife, who was trying to leave him, and towards that filthy pirate that was trying to save her, and Jack couldn't stop him. He hit the ground and grabbed his sword, but before he could do anything, there was a loud scream, followed by a gunshot. Jack immediately looked up and saw how a heavily bleeding Angelica fell backwards. There was a plunge, and her body dissapeared beneath the dark surface of the water, as her furious husband pointed a gun at her sinking silhouette.


	5. Chapter 5 - Lying Naked

Chapter 5.

(Hi guys, I hope you're enjoying this fanfic so far, I promise I'll try to update at least every two/three days. This chapter won't have a lot of action in it, but it'll reveal how and when Jack and Angelica met, and it'll give you some more insight in their feelings for each other. I love to read reviews, so please leave those for me! Tips and advice are very welcome too. Enjoy this chapter!)

He had never admitted it, nor would he ever, he suspected, but Angelica had captain Jack Sparrow feeling a certain kind of way. To him, she was like the sea, she was his salvation, his freedom. She was dangerous, wild, unpredictable, beautiful and dark. And he loved her with every bone in his body. He always had, and he always would. So when he saw his freedom, his salvation and his love bleeding out in the water, drowning, something inside of him snapped.

With a growl of anger and pain, Jack jumped to his feet, grabbed Nathaniel's shoulders, spun him around and punched him in his face. Once, twice, every punch he threw was filled with hatred and disgust, his rings leaving marks in the general's face as Nathaniel screamed out in pain and tried to get away from his furious attacker. ''CAP'N!'', Gibbs suddenly yelled. Sparrow threw one last punch and let go of the bloody mess that was Nathaniel George, causing him to collapse on the pier. Jack's attack on the general took only a few seconds, but it was enough for Jack to give in to the anger inside of him. No one would ever hurt Angelica, ever. Not when he was still alive and able to fight it. As Nathaniel softly gurgled in his blood while laying on the pier, Jack spun around, and his heart broke at the sight of Angelica's lifeless, soaked body lying at Gibbs feet. ''Make way to Seville'', Jack ordered Gibbs as he walked to Angelica and picked her up in his arms. ''But, cap'n-'', Gibbs started, but Jack interrupted him immediately. ''NOW!'', he shouted as he held Angelica's body against his chest and pased up to his cabin.

All of his anger and his pain was suddenly forgotten and had changed for a feeling he had never felt before in his life; absolute terror. His love, his Angelica, layed pale, cold and still in his arms, and though he walked as quick as his legs would carry him, he wanted to collapse on the floor, he wanted to scream. Immediately, he layed Angelica down in his bed and threw the door shut behind him. He pulled up the sleeves of his white blouse, kneeled down next to her and took her pale face in his hands. ''Angelica?'', he asked with a somewhat trembling voice. No reaction. Her dark, wet hair stuck to her cheeks and lips. She was breathing, he could tell. Weakly. But if she didn't get warm immediately, she would die.

Jack didn't hesitate one second. He ripped open her dress and tore it off her body, throwing it to the floor. Then he grabbed one of his own blouses and clumsily put her in it. He ripped his red bandana out of his hair and pressed that to the bulletwound in her right breast. As he was softly, hastily begging her to open her eyes, his heart felt like it would jump out of his chest, but he refused to let the fear and pain he felt slow him down. Jack knew she needed to get warm, quickly. He needed to stop the bleeding, and warm her up. And so, he grabbed the bottle of rum that stood on his desk, threw the liquor into the fireplace in his chamber, and lit a match, that he quickly threw into the wood. With a loud roar, the flames lit up, and the glow of hot fire gleamed through Jack's dark chamber.

The captain returned to Angelica, took her into his arms and carried her towards the fireplace. When he sat down, he kept holding her in his arms and ran his fingers through her wet hair. ''Angelica, my dear'', he spoke softly. There was no reaction. Jack took the bandana from the floor, that was now covered in her blood, and he pressed it against the wound, desperately trying to stop the bleeding. ''Love, please don't.. don't go, please'', Jack begged her. Although he would never admit it, ever, he'd always carried stirrings.., feelings for this Spanish, beautiful pirate. She made him feel useful, free, and no other woman he had ever been with gave him that feeling. She made him feel like he was in danger all the time, but he loved it. He loved everything about her and now that she was at the edge of death, he wasn't afraid to admit it. He feared every second passing, scared that she would suddenly stop breathing.

But she didn't. She kept fighting, and two hours later, when the Black Pearl was steadily sailing towards Seville, Jack was still sitting in front of the fire, holding her into his arms. He had been humming pirate songs for the past two hours, sometimes throwing more rum into the fire to keep it going, but never letting go of the unconscious woman in his arms.

Just as Jack was about to give in to his sore arms and his heavy eyelids, he felt a sudden movement. Angelica's body shocked, her mouth opened and seawater rose up from her lungs, onto the floorboards of the chamber. Jack held her hair out of the way and kept silent until she stopped coughing and slowly looked up to him. Every cell in his body wanted to kiss her salty lips, he wanted to kiss her nose and her forehead and her cheeks, he wanted to shout of relief and happiness, but Jack Sparrow was never the type of man to show other people his feelings, and so he didn't. Angelica flinched when she tried to sit up, and with big, tired eyes she looked at the wound in her breast. She was exhausted, Jack could tell. ''I'll need to get that out, love'', he whispered with a soft smile as he looked at the wound. Without saying anything else, he took her into his arms, stood up, and put her down on his bed. As he pulled the cover over her legs, he slowly opened her blouse and so exposed her breast to his eyes. For a short second, she took his hand and dragged it softly up her chest, while Jack ran his eyes over her bare skin. Then she stopped, and he looked back into her eyes. ''Ease the pain, aye?'', he softly said as he gave her the bottle of rum. Angelica hesitated for a small second, but then threw the liquor into her mouth and let it burn down her troath. Jack grabbed a knife, held it in the flames for a few seconds, and then walked back to Angelica. She was slightly shaking, and Jack couldn't tell if it was because of cold, fear or pain. Maybe all three.

''Well, 'ere goes'', Jack said as he leaned over her body. ''Jack'', she said immediately, panick sounding through her voice. Jack smiled softly and nodded. Then, slowly, he put the knife into the wound. Angelica's body shook and she cried out a short, soft sound of agony. As Jack put the knife deeper in, she clenched her nails into the palms of her hands, pushing her teeth together so tightly Jack was fearing she might break 'em. ''Jack-'', Angelica exclaimed with a loud breath. ''Do you remember-'', she flinched of pain. ''-when we met?''. Jack looked up to her and smiled. ''Could not ferget if I tried'', he answered, and Angelica chuckled softly, trying to hide her pain from him. Jack twisted the knife in her wound, trying to find the bullet, when eventually, he felt the evil thing blocking the way of the blade. ''T'was in Seville, a summer night warm as hell itself. I took your convent for a brothel, honest mistake'', he said as he put the blade under the bullet. Angelica flinched and then grinned at him, droplets of sweat appearing on her forehead. '' _Dios mio_ , you liar. You did not. I was about to take my vows, become a nun! And then you came, you seduced me, you used me for your own pleasures, and then you left'', she hissed at him. Jack suddenly pulled out the bullet, making Angelica scream out in pain. Jack held the bullet between his fingers and looked at it closely. ''Did not'', he answered. Angelica rolled her eyes and looked at the empty wound in her breast.

''We shared some passionate nights, you and I'', she said to him. Jack stood up from the floor and walked to his desk, where he put the bullet in an empty gun. ''Can't remember'', he mumbled, turning his back to her. Angelica quietly stood up from the bed and walked over to him. She didn't bother to close the buttons on the blouse she was wearing, exposing her bare breasts. ''You fucked me, Jack'', she spoke in her Spanish accent. Jack's eyebrows rose up and he flinched shortly. ''And you liked it'', Angelica accused him as she stopped behind him and put her hand on his back. In a sudden, unexpected movement, Jack turned around, grabbed Angelica, pushed her down on the bed and kept her there with his own body. Angelica smiled a wicked smile and traced his lips with her fingers. ''Admit it, Jack, you love me'', she whispered. Jack ran her eyes over her skin and closed his eyes for a second, where after he smiled again. ''I reckon you should go to sleep, love, tomorrow'll be a long day'', he spoke softly. Then he jumped up, turned around and left her there, lying half naked on his bed, alone in his chamber. 


	6. Chapter 6 - Death by love

Chapter 6.  
(Hey hey! Sadly I haven't been updating for a while, college has been keeping me busy. But I'll try to pick up as quickly as possible, so bare with me. Chapter 6 might shock you, maybe it'll make you angry, or sad, but that's the point. Enjoy and please leave a review!). 

The Black Pearl sailed the sea for three whole days. Jack Sparrow, Angelica, and the crew were determined to get little Sophia back. The crew didn't fail their purpose on board for one second, and Jack never failed his purpose as a potential father. He held Angelica when the loss of her daughter got to her most, and he promised her, over and over again, that Sophia and she would be reunited very soon. He meant it. Not only for her comfort, because if he was her father, if Sophia was his, he needed to get her back. And every cell in his body was set on the safety of the little girl. He didn't know what Barbossa would do to her, but he knew it wasn't any good. No matter how often Barbossa and he had worked together, they would always be rivals, both captains, competitors of territory and the sea. And Barbossa would do anything possible to make Jack give up everything he had.

In the morning of July 6th, when the sun was at its peek, Gibbs came running up to the rudder, where Jack stood, watching over the ocean and his crew. ''Jack!'', Gibbs yelled as he came to a halt and took a deep breath. Jack raised his eyebrows and turned his face to his sweaty, sun-burned friend. ''Barbossa has docked in Tortuga, just got word from an old friend. Said a one-legged captain came runnin' in'', Gibbs explained. Immediately, a frown appeared between Jack's dark eyebrows. ''Tortuga? What in the world does Barbossa want in Tortuga?''. Most importantly, what did he want in Tortuga with little Sophia? Gibbs shrugged. ''Women?''. Jack thought about it, so hard he could feel his brain shake. ''Don't know'', he said eventually. But they had to get there, like, yesterday. 

''Inform Angelica. Right now'', Jack ordered Gibbs, who nodded and immediately ran off again. With a quick, smooth movement, Jack let go of the rudder and walked closer to the edge, so he could watch over his men on the deck below. ''Listen up, ya sea dogs'', Jack called out. Every man looked up from his work, and dead silence ran through the air. ''Hoist the colours! Make her run smooth and swift, all towards Tortuga!''. His voice sounded strong, demanding, and nobody questioned him. As his last words echoed through the air, his crew started yelling excitedly. They ran over deck, grabbed the ropes, and did what needed to be done. Their destination was less than two hours away, Jack knew, and that meant he was two hours away from Sophia, who was, or wasn't, his lost baby girl. Meanwhile, Jack walked back to the rudder and gave the wheel a powerful spin to the right. The Black Pearl turned as her captain demanded, and with the wind in her back, she swiftly flew across the ocean.

When Jack informed Angelica, she too was clueless about Barbossa's purpose in Tortuga, but just like Jack, she knew that it wouldn't be any good. And as any worried mother would have done, she cursed, kicked and hit things, and then broke down. As Jack held her, for an hour straight,Gibbs docked the Pearl in Tortuga's harbor, and less than five minutes later, they set foot on land.

Normally, Jack enjoyed being in Tortuga. It was the equavalent of rum, women and festivities. But this time, all he felt in his heart was worry and anger. He didn't admit it, and he never opened his mouth, but his crew, and Angelica, read it in his eyes. Angelica, who was once again fully dressed in her pirate styled outfit, ran across the place, asking every person if they'd seen a one-legged pirate with a little girl. None of them had, and their hope was fading until finally, they came across an old, grey bearded man. He seemed somewhat.. intoxicated, but he had information.

''Oh yeah, saw them 'bout an hour ago. Went into town, got 'emselves a few drinks, aye? Good rum here, for certain. Good women too'', and as he said it, he laughed a loud, drunken laugh, but no one was amused. When the old man saw Jack Sparrow's dark eyes, he quickly swallowed his laughter. He knew very well who the captain in front of him was, and he felt that it wouldn't be good for him to keep joking around. ''They all came out the southern harbor, a cap'n and his crew, but no small doll. Nah. No little girl'', he mumbled, putting the bottle of alcohol to his lips and gulping the liquid into his troath. ''No girl? Are you sure?'', Angelica asked him. The old man shrugged and looked at her with hazy, grey eyes, not letting his lips part from the booze. ''Please, it's important'', she begged him, but he spoke no other words.

Jack rolled his eyes, and for a tiny second, he felt afraid. Afraid for Sophia's sake, but also his own. Would he ever be that man? Drunk, alone, shrunken, wrinkly and grey in the streets of Tortuga? As they walked away from the man, he thought about that, and he knew it could've been. ''Wait, captain'', Pintel suddenly said. Jack turned around to face him and looked into his glass eye. ''If 'ey walked into town, but she weren't there, maybe they left her on the ship? Aye?''. For a few seconds, the entire crew went silent. Pintel anxiously looked at Jack, who looked at Angelica, who looked back at Jack. ''She's on the ship'', Jack whispered slowly. Southern harbor. They could be back any minute. They had to get her, now.

Quick as lightning, Angelica started running, immediately followed by Jack and the crew. They all knew that they had only limited time, minutes, if they were lucky. If Barbossa would return before they did, Sophia wouldn't be safe. Jack was more focused than ever to see that baby girl's smile again. They rushed into southern harbor, ran right through groups of sailors and pirates, ignored all the annoyed glances and looks, pushed aside the people that didn't go out of their way, focused on one thing only; Barbossa's ship.  
When they found it, the crew stayed on the pier, guarding Angelica and Jack as they ran up the ship. It took seconds, minutes. Gibbs, Pintel, Marty, and all the others, bravely stood in front of the ship, not letting anyone near. But once ten minutes passed, Angelica and Jack came running back, without a child. ''She's not here! He lied! _Bastardo_! My baby!'', Angelica frantically called out. Jack hushed her and softly took her hand. ''We'll get 'er, love. Promise''. Angelica looked at him, and Jack saw that she didn't believe him. Her eyes told him. Fear crawled into her heart, into her veins, and as flashes of her daughter's dead body ran through her head, she was overtaken by anger. ''This is your fault!'', she screamed out, pulling herself away from Jack and hitting him in the chest. ''If you hadn't come, she would still be with me!'', she cried out, a tear rolling down her cheek. '' _Te odio_!''. The crew turned their faces, looking at their captain, who was desperately trying to calm Angelica down, but she kept screaming, crying, hitting him where ever she could.

Then, suddenly, there was a gunshot, and all of the crew fell silent. They all turned their heads, and Jack froze when he saw Barbossa standing just feet away from him, his gun held up in the air, and a big smile on his old, wrinkly face. ''What ya lookin' for on my ship, Sparrow?'', Barbossa smiled. Angelica, who saw through his games, completely lost control. She pulled loose from Jack's hand and ran towards Barbossa, screaming, cursing, both in Spanish and English, wishing him the most horrible death anyone could ever die, but Barbossa wasn't impressed. For Angelica's sake, Gibbs grabbed her while she tried to run past him, and he pulled her back, forcing her arms on her back as she struggled and screamed. ''I want the girl, Barbossa. Give her to me'', Jack yelled, ignoring Angelica's fighting. He left the safety of the ship and made his way over to Barbossa, standing in front of his crew and Angelica. ''What is your interest in the girl?'', the one-legged captain asked, showing off his rotten teeth. Jack knew time was running out, there was no time for joking around. Sophia was in danger, and every second that he denied what could very well be the truth, was a second less of Sophia's life. ''There's a slight possibility that the little girl, is, in fact, my kid'', he answered, clenching his jaws together. Angelica fell silent, she quit fighting and looked at Jack with widened eyes. Immediately, Barbossa and his crew started laughing, but Jack didn't let it distract him. ''The girl, where is she?'', he asked again, more demanding this time. ''A child? You?! With her?'', the pirate laughed. Jack looked at him for a few seconds, but then he too, filled up with anger. ''Listen, ya filthy piece of scum. If she is my kid, my girl, I want her with me, aye? And if I have to kill you to get her back, so be it'', Jack said angrily. Barbossa and his crew stopped laughing, but a slow, mischievous smile crawled across the old pirate's face. ''You won't have to if there's nothing left to kill for. See, Sparrow, I suspected she was yours. She's got a lot of fight in her. She's annoying'', Barbossa softly spoke as he walked towards Jack. ''But I don't need another Sparrow in me way''. Jack's heart skipped a beat, and his teeth clenched tightly together. ''See that little floatie there?'', the captain then asked. Slowly, Jack turned his face towards the ocean, and indeed, he saw a tiny little boat, floating across the steady waves. ''There's the child. I suggest, if you want to get her back, you do it now. Gunpowder, fire, and a girl of flesh and bones don't go together so well''. Jack's heart stopped, and Angelica started screaming once again, this time, louder than ever. As Jack's crew started yelling and hastily turned towards the floatie, Angelica screamed and blinded by rage, she tried to get to Barbossa. Jack felt his blood turn to ice. He froze. Until eventually, that ice melted, and poison took its place. He was going to blow up the floatie, with Sophia in it. His kid. Angelica's kid. His baby girl. He saw red, and he had never felt so angry, so murderous as right now. He wanted to kill Barbossa. Jack wanted to pierce his heart with a sword, shoot him, burn him alive, hang him, but he couldn't.

Amazingly fast, without hesitation, like only a father would do for his baby girl, Jack turned around, ran back onto the Queen's Revenge, threw off his coat, his hat, his belt, and jumped off the edge of the ship. Within seconds, the salty water surrounded his steaming body. He swam as fast as his body would allow him, and he couldn't be distracted by Barbossa's furious screaming when he came up for air. He couldn't let her die. He couldn't. Because every little piece of his heart wanted that beautiful little girl to be his. And he wanted her back. He wanted to hold her, raise her, watch her grow up and become a beautiful, fierce pirate. His odds were against him, because he could hear the wick hissing as fire crept up, towards the barrel of gunpowder. But he couldn't care for his odds. If saving his daughter meant he'd be blown to shreds, so be it. Jack grabbed the side of the boat and pulled himself up, and the first thing he saw was the barrel. What was left of the wick was only a few centimeters, and it was dissapearing beneath the fire, fast. Then he saw Sophia, put next to the barrel, happily squawking and waving her tiny fists in the air. She wasn't aware of the danger she was in. She couldn't be. Jack heard the hissing before he heard the ticking. The ticking meant explosion. With an immediate movement, he grabbed Sophia, and pulled her out of the boat. The last thing he heard, before the deafening sound of an exploding boat and crashing waves, was Angelica's frantic screaming, the sound of steel on steel, cursing, and Sophia's confused sputtering. He focused on the last of sounds. The soft, innocent voice of his little girl. There was an immense heat, followed by a blinding light, and then there was silence.

 _* Bastardo:_ bastard  
 _* Te odio:_ I hate you


	7. Chapter 7- The Wicked Game

Chapter 7.  
(Hi guys, back again with lucky number 7. Thanks so much for the reviews I got for chapter 6, loved reading them so keep those going! I hope you enjoy this new chapter, let me know, and I'll try to update as soon as possible).

A soaring pain was what Jack Sparrow felt. All he heard was the slow, steady beating of his heart, and all he saw was darkness. Where was he? He couldn't identify his surroundigs. Maybe he was dead. Could it be? The infamous captain Jack Sparrow, envied, hated and feared by many, dead? He already knew what people would say about his death. Captain Jack Sparrow died in a hopeless attempt to save a baby girl that might, or might not, have been his daughter.

When he remembered the last noise he heard before diving into darkness, the soft, confused cries of little Sophia, he almost smiled. But immediately after an immense feeling of fear hit him. Sophia! Was she dead? If he was dead, she would be too, he knew it for certain. She couldn't have survived the explosion, and if she did, she would've drowned before Angelica could get to her. The fear that slowly crawled into his head, and his heart, paralized him. That little baby, dressed in a soft pink dress, with big, brown eyes like her mother, and skin as soft as the sky. She didn't do anything wrong. Death wasn't ready for her yet.

Suddenly, it felt as if he was hit by lightning. A shock went through his body, making his hair stand up right. He felt linen under his fingertops, he felt sweat on his chest and on his forehead, he could smell the faint scent of seawater and rum. And then he heard a sound that made him realise he was still alive. Very softly, from afar, he could hear the joyful laughter of an infant, and he knew immediately who that infant was. Jack opened his eyes and blinked a few times, trying to adjust to the light of candles.

After a long minute, he turned his head to the left, and a smile came across his lips. To his left, in the corner of the room, sat Gibbs, in a rockingchair, holding little Sophia in his arms as she made attempts to grab his beard. Gibbs softly sang to her while he caressed her cheek with his thumb, but when he noticed his captain waking up from a long dream, he quickly stopped and smiled at Jack. ''Oi, cap'n. How ya feelin'?'', he asked. Jack rubbed his forehead. ''I need a visit from my good ol' friend called rum'', he mumbled. Gibbs softly chuckled. ''She's alive'', Jack spoke, sitting up right in his bed. A warm, fuzzy kind of feeling took over. The bearded pirate nodded. ''And jolly as ever''. Sophia, as if she heard they were talking about her, smiled widely and put het tiny fists high up in the air. By seeing this, this baby girl, unharmed and happy in a pirates' old arms, could only make Jack feel incredibly happy. She was alive, tugging at Gibss' clothes and grabbing his beard. That tiny little girl made Jack Sparrow feel some kind of way. He couldn't decide what the feeling was, but his body felt weak and he couldn't stop smiling.

''Hand her over, ya ollie'', Jack said. Gibbs looked up at his captain, slightly surprised. He didn't expect him to want to hold this baby. Jack wasn't good with children, he never was, the thought of having children used to frighten him more than the thought of having to face Davy Jones. Jack couldn't believe it either, but his instinct told him to hold her, and he wanted to. So, Gibbs stood up, walked over to Jack, and carefully placed the little baby girl in his tattoed arms. Jack supported her with one arm, and softly rocked her as he touched her little nose and her cheeks. She had Angelica's eyes. Big, brown, mysterious. Sophia's eyes widened when Jack touched her nose, and for a second, she just layed there, still and curious. But when she accepted the weird looking man that held her, she grabbed Jack's finger, and she refused to let go. ''She's beautiful, ain't she?'', Jack softly spoke. Gibbs was confused, he looked up at his captain as if he had just told him to go catch a dolphin. Jack and a child was a never seen before sight. Rare. Strange, almost. ''Y-yea, she's a doll'', he answered when Jack looked up to him. The captain smiled and turned his gaze back to little Sophia, who looked up at the strange pirate with curious eyes.

''Where's Angelica?'', Jack asked after a while. The blood drained from Gibbs's face. He knew where Angelica was. He just didn't think of it to be smart to answer. How could he tell his captain what happened? When Jack received no answer, he looked up at Gibbs and raised his eyebrows. ''Well? Cat's got ya tongue?''. The bearded pirate, who now felt highly uncomfortable, opened his mouth to answer, but didn't know what to say, and so he closed it again. ''Gibbs, mate, you look like ye've seen a ghost'', Jack chuckled. Well, not exactly, but Gibbs wasn't as afraid of a ghost as he was of Jack, right now. He knew Jack was an unpredictable man, certainly when it came to the people he loved.

Jack slowly started to realize that something was wrong. Something was off, not right. Gibbs just stood there, frozen like a statue, pale and sweating. The fear that Jack had felt just a few minutes ago, carefully crept back into his heart. Sophia was okay. She was unharmed and alive. But where in the hell was Angelica? ''Gibbs'', Jack demanded. ''Where is she? Where's Angelica?''. Sophia cried out softly when she heard her mothers name. ''She- she's downstairs, but cap'n, I don't think it to be smart to go'', Gibbs said.

As soon as Jack stood up and handed Sophia over to him, he knew he made a mistake. ''Cap'n! Jack! She's-'', he started, but he was too late. Jack grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his arms, but didn't bother to close it. He stepped out off his cabin and was immediately greeted by a dark sky and a moon. He'd slept the entire day. Without holding back, he walked downstairs, but he came to an immediate halt when he heard screaming. The screaming that he heard made his blood freeze. Goosebumps crawled over his back and covered his arms.

With fast, determined pases, he walked towards the chamber where the horrific screaming was originated. When he pulled open the door and walked in, the first thing he saw was Pintel, standing over Angelica's body, cutting into her flesh as blood poured onto the bedsheets. ''PINTEL!'', Jack growled. The pirate immediately turned around and tried to say something, explain his actions, but Jack wasn't in a mood to listen. He grabbed Pintel's collar and pushed him aside. Cotton, the tongueless pirate who he'd added to his crew just two years back, stepped in. He bravely stood in front of Jack and blocked the captain's view from Angelica, but he too was thrown against the wall, out of Jack's way.

When Jack saw Angelica, laying on her back, her bedsheets covered in her blood, all of his energy drifted away. ''Cap'n!'', Gibbs yelled as he came running in, but he was too late. Jack had already seen the damage. Angelica was alive, surely, still breathing, but definately not okay. Her face was drained from all colour, pale as the moon. She looked at Jack, but it seemed as if she didn't see a thing. Her lips were dry and chappy, her forehead was covered in sweat, her hair stuck to her face, and from her bellybutton up, she was completely undressed. A big, gaping wound in her torso was exposed for everyone to see.

''What has he done to her?'', Jack asked softly. There was silence. No one dared to answer him. ''WHAT HAS HE DONE?!'', Jack screamed out, his voice filled with rage. He turned around and Gibbs immediately recognized the hatred in his captain's eyes. Jack was as sweet as pie to most people, and he was actually very kind, but when he had reaston to, he could be the worst person someone would ever meet. The old pirate signed Pintel and Cotton to leave, which they immediately did. Neither of them wanted to stay in that little room with a furious Jack Sparrow. ''Gibbs, what did that filthy seadog do to her?'', Jack asked once more, clenching his fists together.

Gibbs sighed and walked out of the chamber, quickly followed by Jack. ''When the floatie exploded she went mad, cap'n. She elbowed me and attacked Barbossa. And ya know what, she almost had him, almost stabbed him in the troath, but his men- argh. One of his men grabbed her, threw her to the ground, you see, and then Barbossa.. well.. his sword, it went right through her, Jack''. Jack felt fire burning in his veins. The rage he felt for Barbossa already, had doubled. The need to shoot someone, kill someone was incredibly big, Jack Sparrow was murderous. ''Why ain't she stiched up, then?'', Jack growled. ''Blade of his sword was covered in poison, cap'n. Snake poison. Takes a few hours to work, incredibly painful, they say''.

''And where were the crew when this happened, aye?'', Jack asked. His crew should've stopped him. Shot him dead or at least distracted him so Angelica could end that miserable dogs life. ''Saving you and the little girl, cap'n'', Gibbs answered apologetic. Jack knew, deep down inside, that he couldn't blame his crew for what Barbossa had done to Angelica, but his anger was bigger than his sensibility. ''How long she got?''. Gibbs took a deep breath. ''Maybe ten hours, if she's lucky. Slow poison it is''. Jack clenched his teeth together tightly and took a very deep breath. First, Barbossa tried to blow an innocent baby girl to shreds, then, he stabs her mother with a poisoned blade. ''Solve this. No matter where you got to go, what you got to do, look som'n up in your little bookies and solve it'', Jack said. It wasn't a question, Gibbs knew that as well as Jack did. It had to be done. Angelica had to live. But with ten hours of her life left, is she was lucky, where could they go? Was there even something to be done?

Jack didn't wait for a response. He turned around and walked back into Angelica's chamber, where she still layed, looking at the ceiling, her nails digged deep into her pillow. Her eyes were filled with sorrow and pain, both things that she desperately tried to hide from Jack. Jack slowly walked up to her bed and fell to his knees, right next to her. Angelica slowly turned her head towards him and smiled a weak, hopeless smile.

''It is okay, Jack'', she whispered. ''Just, I just want you to take care of her for me, okay?''. Jack looked at her, somewhat confused. He couldn't lose her. He didn't want to lose her. Although Angelica and he went a long way back and shared some hatred towards each other, deep down, they longed for eachother. ''You'll be allright, love, don't you worry''', Jack answered as he softly touched her cheek. It felt burning hot. Fever. ''Not this time, Jack''. He couldn't help it, and he couldn't control it, but when he saw the look in her eyes, and he heard the words coming out of her mouth, he knew that she knew she was dying. She knew. And she had accepted it. But he couldn't. He didn't want to. Jack didn't want her to die and he prayed to a God that he didn't believe in, that he would save her. Maybe that was useless. But it was worth trying.

''Please take care of her, Jack, take care of Sophia. Promise me'', she whispered. As she slowly raised her hand and carresed Jack's bottom lip with her thumb, tears filled her eyes and troubled her sight. '' _Por favor_ ''. Because of her own tears, she couldn't see that Jack's eyes had filled up with his own. His anger dissapeared and was replaced by an immense fear and sadness. ''Listen to me, dearie. You're gonna live a long, long life, ya hear me? You and I, we're gonna watch that little girl grow up together, aye? And you going to die an old, wrinkly woman. Not now. Not yet'', he spoke in a soft, somewhat demanding voice. Angelica smiled once again, but didn't answer. Instead, she weakly grabbed his hand and pulled it towards her. Jack knew she was too weak to actually move him, so he stood up from the floor and lied down next to her on the bed. He couldn't care for the blood. Angelica held a big piece of cotton pressed to her wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding. But the truth was, that the snake poison would stop the bleeding. She couldn't actually bleed to death. She could only wait for a very slow, painful death to be over. As Jack lied down next to her, she turned her face upwards and slowly started whispering.  
'' _Padre nuestro, que estás en el cielo._  
 _Santificado sea tu nombre._  
 _Venga tu reino._  
 _Hágase tu voluntad en la tierra como en el cielo._  
 _Danos hoy nuestro pan de cada día._  
 _Perdona nuestras ofensas, como también nosotros perdonamos a los que nos ofenden._  
 _No nos dejes caer en tentación y líbranos del mal._  
 _Amén'_ '. 

When she finished her prayer, she started again, but after two times, Jack couldn't hear it anymore. ''Stop'', he said to her. He didn't want to hear her pray. She wasn't going to die. She wasn't. Please don't let her die, he begged in his mind. ''Stop it, Angelica, you're not going to die!'', he said again. She ignored him, she closed her eyes and kept on praying to God, asking him to forgive her sins and to guide her to heaven. Jack wanted her to stop, because he refused to believe that she was dying. She wasn't. ''Angelica, stop it!'', he said again, slightly irritated. Once again, she kept on praying.

Jack turned his face towards her and almost started to cry. She didn't hear him. And she was dying. She could die any second, right here, next to him, and no matter what he'd do, he couldn't save her. He felt powerless, angry, and lost. Like he was wandering around the world alone, blind, in complete darkness. He didn't have to say anything, because his actions spoke for him.

Jack grabbed her face, turned it towards him, and without hesitating, he pressed his lips against hers. For one second, both of them were surprised by the other, but then, their fear, their sadness and their surprise dissapeared and changed into an incredibly feeling of need, a craving for lust. Angelica found a little bit of energy, and used it to its fullest. She grabbed Jack's face, accidentally scratched his cheek with her nails, grabbing his hair to stop him from moving away from her. Jack didn't feel a thing other than her lips on his, and her hands on his body. He pulled her closer against him and he felt Angelica's body flinch in pain, but she repayed him by biting his bottom lip.

Their kiss wasn't sweet, it wasn't careful or soft. It was filled with a passion they had surpressed for years. Angelica repeatedly scratched Jack's nek and bit his lip, while he grabbed her hair and pulled her body closer to his. Their teeth clashed, their tongues played with eachother. Their hearts were set ablaze by desire, love and lust. A wicked game, pirates say, that love is not a game to play, but many try their luck. And as Jack ripped Angelica's shirt off her body and threw it aside, that was exactly what they did. They tried their luck in the wicked game of love.

Angelica didn't anwer to the soaring pain she felt. She gave in to what she wanted most, Jack. As Jack grabbed her breasts, Angelica tore apart his shirt and ran her nails across his back, leaving scratches on his skin. Within seconds, their naked bodies were entwined. Jack held her face and supported his weight on his elbows as he pushed himself into her, again and again, every movement stronger than the one before. Angelica's moaning filled his heart with pleasure. It motivated him. His surpressed love, his lust, his anger and his pain were all set free when the Spanish beauty underneath him bit her lip and dug her nails into his back. She had forgotten about her pain and refused to think about her death. She had nothing more to lose. Their bodies moved together like waves roll ashore, some waves stronger and faster than others, but ever beautiful. As they made love, the chamber was filled by Angelica's moaning and Jack's panting, but neither of them would stop. In a way, they were still fighting. They moved in violent ways, almost trying to outdo eachother. When Jack looked down, Angelica was looking at him, and as she bit her lip, she smiled, and both of them forget their worries. For a second, there was no poison, no Barbossa, no death, there was just them, making passionate love to eachother. When their bodies came to a point of ecstasy, Angelica pulled his face closer and kissed him, and as her body shook heavily in pure gratification, she screamed, Jack moaned, both of them moving faster and faster until their bodies gave in and fire spread through their veins.

* _Por favor:_ please


	8. Chapter 8- Daughters

(Hi guys! Been very very busy, oh my god, so busy, but I finally found the time to write a new chapter. It isn't full of action or full of love like the ones before, but lets just say my writing skills suffer under my fever. But I promise you, the next chapter is going to be amazing and you'll all be shocked. So keep reading, and leave me a review).

Chapter 8.  
It took Angelica two hours to fall asleep, but once she had given up on staying awake, Jack dressed himself, kissed her burning forehead and quietly left her room. As he walked up to the rudder, he fixed his hair and tried to ignore the burning skin on his back. Angelica had done a lot of damage to his body, but if he had to be brutally honest, he didn't mind. Now, after experiencing Angelica, he wanted her to live more than ever. ''Tell me you've got good news'', Jack said to Gibbs as he walked up to him.

Gibbs looked up from a big map and sighed, slowly shaking his head. ''I don't know, cap'n. I don't know what to do'', he admitted. Jack looked at him, and then up at the starry sky, as if he was hoping a medicine would just appear. The exhausted captain rubbed his forehead and placed his hands on the map, looking at all continents, following every line with a frown between his dark brows. He didn't know either. But one thing was certain. ''Listen, Gibbs. Little Sophia, she ain't gonna grow up without her mum. And I ain't gonna miss out on having that woman in my life'', Jack spoke, still staring at the map. Gibbs didn't answer, because he didn't need to. It wasn't a request, and he knew Jack was serious. He had always known that his friend, his captain, Jack, was in love with Angelica. He'd just never admit it. But knowing Jack, he wouldn't admit it even if he married the girl.

''I know, cap'n. But..how can we help her? She's got hours left, and we're a world away from Tortuga, Port Royal and Seville. We got no place to go'', Gibbs answered. Jack knew his bearded friend was right, but he refused to give up. If they couldn't bring Angelica to health, health should come to Angelica. ''Right. So we bring 'em here. Now tell me, Gibbs, who do we know that can provide us with.. say, medicine?'', Jack asked, looking up. Gibbs frowned. ''What are ya saying?''. Jack smiled a quirky smile. ''I say, we ask good old Will Turner for help. I bet he got something for her. He must have. He has the living dead aboard''. Gibbs eyes widened, and for a second, he looked at his captain as if he had gone mad. ''Will?'', he repeated. Jack nodded. ''I..-I don't know where Turner is, cap'n. He could be ashore, with his wife and kid'', Gibbs stammered. Jack grinned and slowly touched the side of his head with his finger. ''He's around. Trust me. Bring me two barrels of gunpowder and a match''. Gibbs frowned, he was confused, and didn't know what to expect. ''Now, shoo!'', Jack called out. And so, the confused pirate turned around and quickly ran below deck.

Half an hour later, Jack stood at the side of the ship, two barrels next to him, an unlit match between his fingertips. ''Cap'n, I don't wanna disturb ya know, but what's the plan?'', Gibbs asked nervously. Jack turned around, smiled mysteriously, and with a quick movement, he lit the match and threw it to the first barrel of gunpowder. Amazingly fast, Jack grabbed the barrel and threw it overboard. Before it even hit the water, there was a deafening bang. The sky lit up, and flames started dancing on top of waves. Jack repeated the routine and let the second barrel explode too. ''Cap'n?'', Gibbs asked again, but Jack ignored him and stared into the fire. ''Go check on Angelica for me'', Jack answered, and with that order in mind, Gibbs sighed, turned around and walked towards Angelica's chamber.

Fortyfive minutes, Jack stood on the side of the ship, watching the flames dance, and when they drowned into the ocean, he threw another barrel overboard, lighting up the sky. Angelica was still alive, she was awake, and Sophia layed asleep in her arms, not knowing the danger her mother was in. Not knowing that her father was wasting all of the gunpowder on board. Jack, who felt like he was about to pass out of exhaustion, rubbed his eyes and yawned. Just as he wanted to stand up and turn around to get another barrel, there was a sound of crashing waves, and out of the darkness of the sea, a big, mighty ship appeared. The Flying Dutchman. And at the rudder stood William Turner.

Jack grinned widely and quickly jumped to his feet. ''Will''. Will nodded and smiled softly. ''Jack'', he answered in his posh accent. ''How ya doin', mate? Living the pirate life, aye?''. Jack hadn't seen Will in over four years, but Will didn't look a day older. Then again, he was immortal. Doomed to sail the seven seas forever. His father, Bootstrap Bill Turner, stood right next to him at the rudder, and his undead crew curiously stood watching, weapons in their hands. ''You could put it like that, yes'', Will responded as he walked over to the side of his ship. ''It's a little late for dinner, so I suppose that's not what I'm here for''. Will smiled and brushed his dark curls out of his face. ''Angelica's dying. Snake poison. She's got hours left'', Jack briefly explained. Will raised his eyebrows. ''Angelica? What'd you want with Angelica?'', he asked curiously. Jack made a strange noise and quickly smiled. ''Long story. Story for another time'', Sparrow answered, raising his hands into the air. Will rolled his eyes and sighed, looking back at Jack. ''Just help her, ya bonehead'', Jack muttered, slightly irritated. As a response, Will smiled a cold smile, turned around, and walked back to his rudder. He had become increasingly annoying now that he was captain of a ship, Jack decided. But he needed his help. ''Please'', Jack called out reluctantly.

The Flying Dutchman's captain chuckled when he heard Jack's pleading. ''Well then'', he said, turning to his men. ''Make a way aboard Sparrow's ship, bring me all the herbs you got'', Will ordered. Immediately, his men started frantically moving, some walking below decks to collect all that their captain needed, two others to lay the ship still, and few to make a passing to the Black Pearl. ''I trust Gibbs has an understanding of snake poison'', Will said to Jack and Gibbs.

Jack, Will and Gibbs sat at the side of Angelica's bed. She was half asleep, half awake, but she wasn't doing well. Her fever had worsened, she couldn't speak, and her clothes were drained in blood and sweat. Little Sophia layed quietly in Bill Turner's arms, who patiently waited on deck. ''How long since it happened?'', Will asked as he looked at the gaping wound in Angelica's body. ''Bout a day, I'd reckon'', Gibbs answered.

''Snake poison spreads slowly, right?''. Gibbs looked up at Will and slowly nodded. ''This kind, aye'', he agreed. ''Angelica, what part of your body hurts the least?'', Will asked. Angelica raised her hand very slowly, and Jack saw the energy drain from her body as she touched her chest and shoulders. ''So that's where the poison is least effective'', Will said to Gibbs. Gibbs looked at Angelica, and then back to Will. ''Which means we gotta cut her there, spread the herbs in her blood''. Jack frowned. ''Whoa, cut her open like a fish?'', he asked, raising his eyebrows. Will nodded. ''These herbs work only in direct contact with the poisoned blood. It's the fastest way, Jack'', he explained. Sparrow frowned. ''She's lost a lotta blood'', he protested. ''We got no other choice, cap'n'', Gibbs muttered softly.

Jack knew that Angelica was in great danger, and that this was the only way to safe her. But there was a real possibility of her bleeding to death before the herbs could do their magic. Could he take that risk? Would he be able to?

''If we don't do it she'll die any way around it'', Will said abruptly. Jack looked up at his old friend, and he knew he was right. Angelica could die, either from the poison or from the loss of blood, but if they didn't try, she would die for certain. Sophia would grow up without a mother. And Jack would lose her forever. Reluctantly, he agreed. ''Fine. Do it quickly. Now'', Jack said.

Angelica immediately looked up and shook her head. Though she couldn't speak actual words, she started muttering spanish cursewords and desperately tried to push away Gibbs's hand when he tried to clean her skin with alcohol. Jack grabbed her face and forced her to look at him. ''Ya ain't going to die on my watch, dearie. So if you want to die and leave little Sophia behind, I suggest you jump overboard. But considering ya can't even speak, I wouldn't try to walk'', Jack said to her. Angelica shut up and stopped moving, but to Jack's amusement, her eyes spit fire. He smiled and ripped open her blouse.

When Gibbs cut open Angelica's skin, and blood slowly started dripping out, she didn't even scream. Jack doubted if she'd even felt it. Maybe she was too far gone to be saved, but they had to try. Will crushed the herbs and spread it in a thick layer, from her left shoulder to her right shoulder, and down to between her breasts. ''Give me your shirt'', Will said to Jack. Jack slowly turned his head and frowned. ''Whot?''. Will rolled his eyes. ''I need it to keep the herbs in place'', he explained. Jack squeezed his eyes together as he slowly removed his shirt. Will ripped it apart with his knife and then bound it around Angelica's body, so that the herbs wouldn't move out of her wounds.

Just as Will secured the last piece of cotton, there was a loud gunshot on deck. Gibbs, Jack and Will froze, looked at each other for a second, and then stood up. ''Keep her safe'', Jack ordered Gibbs, then walking out of the chamber onto the deck, quickly followed by Will. The sun was slowly rising, colouring the sky a light kind of pink and orange. When they saw what was happening, they all froze. Both Jack's crew and Will's crew was driven into a corner, surrounded by men who held their swords and guns against their throaths. In front of them stood their captain, a man with piercing blue eyes and a dark, black beard. Jack could only speak one word. ''Impossible''. The captain pulled his gun and put it to Jack's head.

Then, Jack saw little Sophia, her eyes closed as she weakly dangled in the captain's arms. When Blackbeard saw the horror and pain in Jack's eyes, a slow, evil smile crawled across his face.

''Bring me my daughter, and I'll give you yours''.

All hell broke loose.


	9. Chapter 9- Angelica's Sacrifice

(2 chapters in less than a week yo! I just feel very inspired. This might shock you, maybe you'll hate me and this fic after reading, but I promise it'll all be fine. -or not?- Enjoy reading and please leave a review!)

Chapter 9.

There was no feeling in the world close to what Jack Sparrow was experiencing when he saw his crew surrounded by Blackbeard's men, and his baby daughter, pale, with closed eyes, in Blackbeard's arms.

''Again'', Blackbeard spoke as he slowly pointed his gun towards Jack. ''Bring me my daughter, and I'll give you yours''. Jack's mind was racing. How could he be alive? Blackbeard was doomed to burn for all eternity, and yet here he was, standing a few feet away from him. There was no sense, no sense at all. ''How?'', Jack asked, his teeth clenched together. Blackbeard grinned, and a tall, gross looking pirate stepped forward. ''Quartermaster'', he answered. The zombie pirate smiled a cold smile, showing off his rotten teeth. ''Did I not tell you, Sparrow, that my quartermaster has a wicked gift?''. Jack vaguely knew that the zombie practiced voodoo. ''If you want to kill me, you have to kill him. The thing is, you cannot kill an undead man''.

Jack was exhausted, drained from all energy. But now that his crew, Sophia, and Angelica were in danger, he knew well that there was no time to rest. ''What'd you want with Angelica?'', Will asked. Blackbeard turned his gaze, and for a second, he felt suprised that this stranger interfered with his business. ''Who in hell are you?''. Will couldn't help but smile a little. ''Will Turner, captain of the Flying Dutchman''. Blackbeards smile widened. ''Ah, so you are the man that murdered Davy Jones''.

Suddenly, Gibbs came running out of Angelica's chamber. ''Cap'n, it's working, she-''. He quickly stopped talking and looked at Blackbeard in utter confusion and disbelief. ''Who are you keeping in that chamber, Sparrow?'', Blackbeard asked with a wide smile. Gibbs' face turned pale. ''Nothing. Rum, in all honesty'', Jack said, holding up his hands. ''Bring her to me'', Blackbeard said to Quartermaster. Immediately, the undead pirate pushed Gibbs aside. ''No, wait!'', Jack called out quickly. The zombie stopped walking. ''And filthy pirate wear, wouldn't go in there, mate. The stench is horrible''. The Quartermaster laughed a dark, mocking laugh as he walked into Angelica's chamber. For a few short seconds, there was silence. Suddenly, Angelica screamed, something broke, and then there was a loud thud. In the silence that followed, Jack feared for Angelica's life, and he was about to run into the chamber when the Quartermaster came out, holding Angelica's arms on her back with one hand, and pulling her hair with the other. As he pushed her forward, Blackbeard's smile turned into a warm, almost loving smile, but Angelica's eyes showed nothing but disbelief and fear. And when she saw her daughter laying in the captain's arms, hatred too.

''Angelica, my dear! It is so lovely to see you'', Blackbeard sighed. Angelica, who was too weak to fight the Quartermaster, was thrown to her knees. The zombie yanked her hair backwards so her face turned upwards towards Blackbeard. She was dressed in an oversized white blouse that belonged to Jack. It was blood-stained and it stuck to her sweaty skin, but Blackbeard didn't seem to notice. He gave little Sophia to another member of his crew and slowly walked up to Angelica. ''You were supposed to be dead!'', Angelica hissed at him. Blackbeard ignored her and grabbed her face. Jack immediately stepped forward. Immediately, three pirates stepped out too. One grabbed Jack and threw him against the rail, causing Jack to collapse onto the deck, coughing and gasping for air. The others roughly grabbed Will and Gibbs.

''What do you want with her?'', Angelica asked, looking at Sophia's pale body. Blackbeard only smiled and raised his hand. Before anyone could do anything, the pirate holding baby Sophia grabbed a knife and put it to her troath. ''NO!'', Jack and Angelica screamed out. Terror filled Angelica's eyes. ''Please, please do not harm her, please, father-'', she started, but Blackbeard responded by slapping her in the face so hard, that her entire head turned to the side. She immediately shut up. ''What do you want?!'', Jack growled in anger. ''I want life. My quartermaster is a very gifted man, but my breath is limited, Sparrow. If I do not take the life of another before the night falls, I am a dead man. And it seems only fair that I take the life of the one who stole it from me'', Blackbeard spoke, slowly turning his head to Angelica. ''My own daughter''. Angelica's eyes widened and she tried to pull her face away from Blackbeard's hand, but the Quartermaster grabbed her hair even tighter and pulled it back. There was no way out for her. ''Find another. Not one on this ship. Not her!'', Jack spoke angrily.

It was dead silent on the ship. No one but Jack, Blackbeard and Angelica spoke. The tension between the three was almost visible. ''Not her..'', Blackbeard repeated slowly. ''You choose, then, Sparrow. A life for a life. Will it be my dearest Angelica- or the child?''. Jack froze, Angelica's face turned pale. Neither of them could believe it. Jack had to choose who Blackbeard would kill. Either the woman he loved, or his baby girl. Neither, if it were up to him, but he knew Blackbeard wouldn't settle for it.

''Not my daughter! _Por favor! Te lo ruego!_ I beg you!'', Angelica pleaded with tears in her eyes. No. Not her. But not Sophia. ''That is not your choice to make, doll'', Blackbeard said, carressing Angelica's bottom lip with his thumb. ''Sparrow. Ten seconds. Ten-'', Blackbeard called out. Jack's heart was beating so fast he feared it would explode. ''Nine-''. He couldn't choose. He wouldn't. ''Eight-''. That miserable chunk of flesh wasn't going to take Angelica and Sophia away. ''Seven-''. No. No. NO! ''Six-''. He loved her. He loved her so much. ''Five-''. Jack, in absolute panic, tried to break loose from the pirates arms and get to Blackbeard, but the pirate pulled him back and put a gun against his head. ''Four-''. His breathing was too fast. ''Three-''. Blackbeard pulled out a small knife. ''There must be another way!'', Will's voice yelled from afar. ''Two-'', twisted it between his fingers. ''PLEASE, FATHER'', Angelica screamed. Forced to choose. No.

His heart, his breathing, his body. Weak. His woman. His kid. ''One''. Angelica begged, Jack's crew yelled, Blackbeard's crew laughed, but no one stopped him. Blackbeard turned around and walked up to his victim. He grabbed his knife, twisted it between his fingers, and as he dragged the blade across her throat and blood started pouring out, his crew started screaming out in joy. There was a loud, heartbreaking scream, followed by cursing and crying, all at the same time. Angelica fought as hard as she could, but it was too late. Blood poured out of her throat, and as her fighting weakened, she slowly fell onto the deck. She weakly raised her hands, put them to the wound and in desperation, she tried to stop the bleeding, but a puddle of blood appeared beneath her, sticking to her legs, her back, her hands, arms and face. Jack screamed out in anger, broke free, grabbed his sword and pierced the heart of the pirate that tried to hold him back. As he turned around and walked towards the Quartermaster, Jack's entire crew broke loose.

They started fighting like mad men. They grabbed everything they could use as a weapon, including their hands. The sounds of swords, gunshots and pain echoed through the warm morning air. It was absolute chaos, men were running, screaming, hitting each other and themselves by accident. And in the midst of it all layed Angelica, gurgling in her own blood, desperately trying to stop herself from bleeding to death. Jack walked up to the Quartermaster with quick, terrorizing pases, but before he could even raise his hand, the Quartermaster smiled, and dissapeared into thin air. And when Jack turned around to see where he was, he saw him standing, feet away, on Blackbeards ship, with right next to the rudder, Blackbeard himself.

As the Black Pearl's crew bravely fought on, Jack dropped his sword, fell to his knees and took Angelica into his arms. ''Love, I'm sorry, I am so sorry-'', he started with tears in his eyes, but Angelica softly shook her head and grabbed his shirt. ''T-take care of m-my baby'', she stuttered. Jack grabbed her face into his hands, but Angelica's eyes were rolling away. ''You're not dying on me! Hey! Damn it, ANGELICA!'', Jack screamed out, shaking her. But as she looked up at the rising sun, her hands slipped from her throath, and her entire body came to a rest. The light in her dark, Spanish eyes went out. ''No. No. No. No, please, Angelica. NO!''. Jack's eyes started tearing up and his voice trembled as he desperately tried to wake up the woman that he loved, but he knew he couldn't. He knew she wouldn't wake up.

Amidst all the chaos and the fighting, there sat Jack, holding Angelica's body in his arms, staring in her dead, open eyes, crying heavily and begging her to wake up, when suddenly, the noises dissapeared. Blackbeard's men (the ones that had survived), abandoned the Pearl. The dead men were thrown overboard, and Blackbeard dissapeared. His life was recovered. He would live to see another sunrise, and he knew, that he was the first man that had ever broken the legendary Jack Sparrow.

And he had. Because when the fighting stopped, and the silence returned, Jack still sat there, covered in Angelica's blood, holding her body and softly begging her to wake up. But she didn't. And she wouldn't, ever.

Will and Gibbs took it upon themselves to take Jack to a chamber, where they cleaned his hands and his face and dressed him in a clean blouse, as the crew took care of Angelica. They wiped the blood of her face, covered her with a large, cotton blanket and layed her down in a small boat. They filled that boat with her belongings, and all of the pirates left her something. Pintel left her a leather tie that he always wore around his wrist, Cotton left her a small journal in which he had written all of the thoughts he was never able to say. And so, every pirate left her something. When the floatie was filled with small treasures, they lowered the tiny boat, but neither of them had the heart to lower it into the water, yet.

When Jack had finally stopped fighting and crying, he slowly walked out of the chamber and ignored the remorseful glances his crew gave him. With steady, slow pases, he walked up to the little floatie and went through his knees, supporting his weight on his feet. He couldn't see Angelica's body, but he knew she was in there. The only thing that stopped him from falling apart was his daughter, their daughter. Slowly, Jack took his compass, looked at it, and dropped it into the floatie. After minutes of nothing, he stood up, looked at the floatie once more and nodded. Gibbs, Cotton and Marty slowly lowered the floatie into the water. It was caught by the waves and drifted onto open waters immediately.

Jack knew she would have wanted it that way. Wandering the ocean, not knowing where she would strand. He also knew, that he would never see her again, he would never kiss or touch her again. He would never make love to her again or fight with her again. And she would never see her baby girl grow up. And that's what kept him from putting a bullet in his own head. Sophia. If Angelica couldn't watch her grow up, if she couldn't raise her, he would. He would do it for the both of them.

When the floatie dissapeared, and the Black Pearl, accompanied by the Flying Dutchman, set sail to an unknown destination, Jack walked away. Will wanted to say something, but Jack slowly shook his head. He couldn't talk about it. Not yet. He walked up the stairs, ignored the whispering behind his back, and went into his chamber. When Jack saw little Sophia, lying in the tiny, wooden crib that the crew made her, his heart broke. She didn't know what was going on. She had no idea that her mother was dead. She just lay there, happily waving her little fists and feet in the air. Jack softly touched her cheek, took her into his arms and sat down on his bed. As he held her and looked into her curious, big eyes, Angelica's eyes, he broke down. Pain tore his chest apart, it set his throat on fire, and tears slowly started rolling down his cheeks. As he closed his eyes, softly cried and collapsed into himself, he held Sophia tightly in his arms and pressed his trembling lips to her forehead.

''I love you'', he whispered to the tiny baby in his arms.


	10. Chapter 10- A fifth birthday

(Back again with chapter 10. Angelica's death probably came as a shock to all of you. Nevertheless, it'll all be allright. I promise. Enjoy this chapter, as always, please leave a review, and thank you guys so much for reading this. It means a lot to me).

Chapter 10.

Three full years passed. Sophia grew. Will stayed. Jack grieved, and no matter how often the sun set, he couldn't let go of the pain and the anger he felt. Blackbeard took the love of his life away, and the mother of his child. And he promised himself, that when the time came, he would be the one to send that filthy sea dog back to hell, where he belonged.

Jack Sparrow didn't resign, he never gave up. He stayed captain of the Black Pearl as she sailed over the seven seas. Besides his crew and little Sophia, his ship was all he had left to live for. Though they discovered new places, found treasures and fought a lot of fights, nothing major ever happened. It seemed as if Blackbeard, Barbossa, and any other old 'friend', purposely tried to stay away from Jack and his crew. Which, considering Jack's anger over the death of Angelica, was a smart thing to do. Everyone stayed away, except for Will. Will, his crew and his ship, accompanied the Black Pearl during its travels across the globe. There were times that the Flying Dutchman dissapeared, often for months at a time, but Will always appeared when Jack needed help. Because he knew that Jack was struggeling.

Being the captain of a great ship like the Black Pearl, and a father at the same time, was not easy for him. Jack tried the best he could, surely, but there were times that he failed miserably, either as a captain or a father. Still, his crew, Will, and Will's crew were always there to break his fall. They had become Sophia's family. She never knew any better.

Jack taught her to walk. He held her hands as she put her little feet on his, and he would walk her around the ship like that. And when she fell, he picked her up and dangled her upside down until she laughed, and they would try again. And when she was able to walk and speak, Jack taught her to climb. Within weeks, Sophia climbed into the mast like she hadn't ever done anything else. At three years old, she climbed better and higher than most other men on the ship. When she turned four, Gibbs taught her how to play cards, it turned out to be her favorite game. Sophia loved Cotton's parrot. She talked to it, played with it and fed it. For some reason, they shared a bond.

Every night before Jack put her to sleep, he would read her a story about pirates, princesses, queens, wild seas, far countries and hidden treasures.

She was still learning how to read, but it was coming along. And Will saw that Jack loved her, and that no matter how much mistakes he made, he was a good father to her. She grew up to be beautiful. Sophia had big, brown eyes, long lashes and full, arched eyebrows. She had pouty lips and a rosy colour on her cheeks. Her hair grew long, dark and wild. The wind and the sea shaped her into a beautiful, little girl. She looked so much like Angelica, it almost hurt Jack to look at her.

But they didn't speak of Angelica. No one did. And Sophia never asked. But hell, at four years old, she had never really thought of her mother. She grew up with pirates, with men. She hadn't ever seen another woman, and she was too young to remember Angelica. Jack knew she would ask, someday. But until that day came, he would keep his mouth shut.

On the morning of Sophia's fifth birthday, on July 22, that day came. The crew, like they did every year, decorated the ship with palm leaves and tiny flowers, which they had collected just a day before. Gibbs made her a special birthday breakfast, like he did every year. Banana pancakes with pineapple juice. Sophia's favorite food in the world, she told Gibbs. And every year, the crew, both Wills and Jacks men, gave the child a little gift.

But when the gifts were given, and Sophia had her birthday breakfast, the men went on with their daily routine, and Jack took Sophia op to the rudder. As he held her in his arms, she put her tiny hands on the wooden wheel and she would steer the ship. With Jacks guidance, of course. But Sophia loved it. The feeling of controlling a big, powerful ship, she liked it. And Jack enjoyed watching her do it. He wanted to teach her everything he knew at an early age, so that one day, she'd be the most amazing, fierce pirate, (and captain) on the seven seas. Just like her mom once was.

''Dada'', Sophia cried out as she softly hit her fists on the rudder. That was Jack's cue. She was tired of it. Jack laughed about it, spun her around and sat her down on the wooden table next to the wheel, where they would normally read maps on. As Jack took the rudder and spun it around, Sophia looked at the Flying Dutchman and happily waved at Will, who climbed into the mast. Sophia loved having Will around. She liked being able to hop from one ship to another. And to be very fair, Jack enjoyed the company. Not only for himself, but for Sophia too. He wanted her to grow up happy, with pirates. Just because he and Will often had their disagreements, he still was a good friend to him and Sophia. And because Will had to wait four more years to see his son and his wife again, he eased his pain by being around the little girl.

Often enough, Jack doubted whether or not the Black Pearl was an appropriate place for Sophia to grow up. But he knew he couldn't stand not having her around. He would go mad. Well, even worse than he was already. ''How was the pancakes, doll?'', Jack asked his girl as he softly rested on the rudder. Sophia wiggled around to face him and tilted her head a tiny bit. ''Bananas'', she answered with a big smile, and Jack chuckled. ''Happy ya liked 'em. Now you gotta wait another year''. Sophia just raised her eyebrows. For a few minutes, there was silence. Sophia watched the men on deck as Jack spun the rudder when needed.

Then the question came, without warning. ''Where is mommy?''.

Jack's heart skipped a beat, and pain flinched through his heart as he quickly looked at his daughter. She just sat there, not knowing of the pain her father was suddenly feeling. Not aware that in his mind, he saw the woman he loved, gurgling in her own blood, on the deck of his own ship. Jack swallowed hard and forced a smile. ''How'd your smart mind come up with that?'', he asked. Sophia brushed her dark hair out of her face and looked up at her father, a little cautious. ''Everyone has a mommy'', she answered. Jack let go of the rudder and slowly walked up to her, taking her tiny hands in his.

He knew he couldn't lie to her. She would believe him, surely, but he didn't want to. He had promised himself to be honest to her if she ever asked him about Angelica. But he'd hoped that she was at least ten when she did. ''She's not here, baby girl. But she's around somewhere'', Jack answered, brushing her chubby cheek with his thumb. Sophia looked up at him with her big eyes, and for a second, they almost looked sad. ''Where is she?''. Jack smiled, ignoring the pain in his heart. ''Everywhere'', he whispered. He would tell her what had really happened, sure, but not yet. He didn't want her to grow up knowing that her mother was dead because of him. It was his own fault. It was his burden. Not Sophias.

''Is she pretty? Is she funny? Can she play cards like Gibbs?'', Sophia asked curiously. Jack laughed softly. ''Your mother is the most beautiful girl in the world. Well, after you. She's very funny, can make anyone laugh without using words. And she plays card better than any man on this ship. Better than Gibbs''. Sophia smiled, excited to hear about her mom. And she wondered, in that innocent, unknowing mind of hers, if she would ever meet her.

''Is she a princess?''. Jack laughed. ''No, dearie. She was a pirate, just like you. Just like me''. The little girl nodded happily. ''Princess aren't pretty, right daddy? Weird dresses''. Jack agreed. ''Is she a better pirate than you?''. Will, who heard the question echoeing through the air, laughed from the other ship, but when Jack looked at him, he quickly stopped and stared back at the sea. Jack smiled and turned back to his daughter. ''Much better'', he admitted.

Sophia's mind was filled with wonder and questions. What does she look like? Is she nice? Can she swim as well as her father? Maybe she can make banana pancakes too. Then she can have them on every day, surely. ''When is she back?'', the little girl asked. Jack clenched his jaws together. He didn't know what to say. He loved Sophia, and he didn't want to lie, but he couldn't bring himself to tell her the truth. That she would never, ever meet her mother. She would never see her face or hear her voice, she would never watch her dance, or listen to her reading a bedtime story. ''I don't know, love'', Jack whispered.

And Sophia didn't ask again.

''Thank you'', she just said, and Jack frowned. ''What for?''. Sophia shook her head and stretched out her arms to him. ''Because you are my dad''. Jack smiled a wide smile, picked her up and sat her on his shoulders, so that she could see across the deck and the ocean ahead. In every aspect, she was like her mom. Curious, wild, adventurous and certainly mysterious. But innocent, sweet and soft too.

''Company! Ship!'', Sophia suddenly called out. Gibbs had taught her that. Everytime a ship appeared on the horizon, she called it out. Most of the time it was the Flying Dutchman, appearing from beneath the waves. But this time, there was no sound of crashing waves, or a happily screaming Sophia as Will called her name. Jack looked up, and the blood in his veins froze. Just miles away, three large ships came towards the Pearl and the Dutchman. They weren't pirate ships. This time, it was worse.

Royal ships. The queen's men. And they were out for pirate blood.


	11. Chapter 11- Take the Ship

'There is a certain kind of beauty in death that no one will understand, except for the dead'.

(This one'll be a little more exciting than the last, I promise. But I've got grand plans for this fanfic, so keep reading and please leave me a review. Hint; somebody will dissapear, and another will return).

Chapter 11.

Jack Sparrow immediately knew that they were all in danger. If the Queens Men got their hands on pirates, they would be arrested, brought to court, and killed.

Jack spun the rudder around so fast, the men on his deck lost their balance and fell down. ''Mother of the Seven Seas, Jack!'', Gibbs called out. ''What on earth are ye doing?!''. The grey-bearded pirate ran up the steps, but when he saw what Jack was looking at, he knew exactly what was going on. They were in trouble.

''Take Sophia, hide her'', Jack ordered his friend, who immediately took the five year old from her father's shoulders and brought her downstairs. ''Alright, ya bloody deckapes!'', Jack yelled. ''Hoist the sails, swift hands, around and forwards!'', he ordered in a loud, demanding voice. No one hesitated. Jack's crew swiftly started to prepare the Black Pearl for a fast change of course.

Meanwhile, Will had spotted the royal ships as well, and within seconds, the Flying Dutchman spun around. Still, they were in great minority. The Queen's Men brought along three mighty, fast ships, and they had their eyes set on the pirates ahead of them. The royal vessels were coming after the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman, fast.

''Jack, they're gaining on us!'', Will yelled at Jack from the Dutchman. Jack ignored his comment and spun the rudder once more. The turning of the ships took enough time for the Queen's Men to catch up. Within minutes, the Pearl and the Dutchman were surrounded, and the Royal Guard jumped aboard the pirate ships.

''KEEP 'EM OFF'', Jack yelled.

A gun was fired, and one of Will's men dropped dead in the water. What followed was complete chaos. The crew pulled their swords and started cutting through the ropes that the Royal Guard used to jump aboard the Pearl and the Dutchman. As a reaction, the redcoats started firing guns from their ship.

''Filthy cakefaces'', Jack cursed under his breath.

He pulled his sword, whirled around and pierced the man that attacked him from behind. As he pulled his sword back, he dodged a bullet, turned around, and fired his gun. One of the reds dropped dead into the water, which resulted in more anger. More and more redcoats were jumping aboard the ship, and it seemed as if they came falling from the sky.

Jack knew that if they would take over the Pearl, they would arrest everybody on board, including Sophia.

He threw someone overboard, ran down the steps and shot another redcoat right through his head. ''Keep 'em off, ya seadogs!'', he growled at his men. And they did. Will and Jack barked orders at their crew, trying desperately to keep the Royal Guard of their ship, but it seemed impossible. They kept on coming. More and more men jumped aboard until Jack litteraly saw red. The redcoats blinded his sight. The pirates were overshadowed.

But no one gave up the fight. As Jack grabbed one of the red men and pushed his sword through his chest, he elbowed another, turned, and shot him dead. He threw the two dead men overboard, whirled around, and froze.

Right in front of him stood general Nathaniel George. Angelica's ex-husband. The man that had almost killed her, and attempted to kill Jack.

Jack suddenly remembered that Nathaniel was indeed one of the Queens Men, but he never thought about him since he'd left Port Royal. The general smiled widely at Jack. ''Pleasure to see you again, pirate''. He spit the words like they were poison. What followed, was a vicious attack. He caught the captain off guard and slashed open Sparrow's right arm. Jack growled, quickly stepped aside and held back the generals sword with his own.

More than ever, he was determined to kill George, and all of his bloody redcoats. Jack couldn't bare the thought of the general finding Sophia on board. Nathaniel knew that Sophia wasn't his daughter (although he first believed that when he was married to Angelica) but belonged to a pirate. A pirate named Jack Sparrow.

The hate he felt for Jack and Sophia took over his entire body.

The sky was filled with screams of pain, growls and cursing words, Will barking orders, gunshots, and swords clashing into eachother. Pirates fought redcoats with all the strength in their arms and the power in their backs, but it seemed a hopeless battle.

Then, something happened.

Dead men fell into the red-coloured water, but to Jacks relief, they were almost all Queens Men. Slowly, the Pearl and the Dutchman started to clear. The redcoats pulled back when they realised how many of them were dead. Most of them were back onto their ships, but few stayed behind, determined to kill each pirate on board.

Nathaniel was one of them.

He'd slashed open Jacks right arm, making it very hard for the pirate to use that arm. He was struggeling, but his crew was too busy fighting the last redcoats to notice. Jack flinched of pain when George switched hands and cut open his left shoulder.

In that small second, the pain distracted Jack, and Nathaniel took his chance. He punched him in the face, hit his sword out of his hands and then slashed open his upper leg, causing him to fall to his knees. The general grabbed his gun and hit Jack in the face with it, once, twice, thrice, until he collapsed onto the deck and blood poured out of his nose and mouth.

Immediately, Jack was pulled upright, and he felt the cold steel of a gun pressing into the side of his head. George shouted for silence. The fighting suddenly stopped. Jacks crew fell silent, and shortly after, Will's crew did the same.

''Put down your weapons'', George ordered the pirates. Nobody responded. They knew that if they put down their swords, they would be lost. Jack was wounded, heavily bleeding, and for once, it seemed like there was no escape. But surrender was not an option. Surrender meant death.

''PUT THEM DOWN!'', George growled deliriously.

Still, nobody did as the general ordered.

But suddenly, a man of the Royal Guard came from beneath the deck, dragging little Sophia along by her hand. Jack immediately responded and furiously tried to get up, but George roughly pulled him back and loaded his gun. ''Don't you even try'', he hissed at Jack. Gibbs came running after the man that took Sophia, but another stepped in, hit Gibbs on the back of his head and yanked him onto his knees.

''Put down your weapons'', George spoke again in a dark, cold tone. ''Or she dies''.

The guard holding Sophia grabbed his gun and put it to the back of her head. Sophia, unaware of what was happening, desperately tried to escape and run towards Jack, but the man yanked her back by her hair, which only made Jack more furious.

''Let her go'', Jack growled at George. The general knew exactly how he could force the pirates to surrender. Through the little girl. ''A pirate child'', he whispered. ''It sickens me'', George muttered with a disgusted face.

All Jack could see was Sophia, screaming as she tried to escape, and it reminded him of Angelica. He couldn't lose his daughter too.

''Tell them to surrender, or I'll happily shoot that child scum'', George ordered Jack, pushing his gun harder into Jacks temple. Jack slowly looked at Will. The Dutchman was taken, too. There was no chance of fighting.

''Put 'em down'', Jack growled to his crew. In utter disbelief, his crew stared back at their captain. Giving up? Jack Sparrow? No, that couldn't be. He has a grand master-plan to escape, right? Like always.

''PUT 'EM DOWN!'', Jack shouted angrily when George pointed his gun at little Sophia. Slowly, one by one, the crew layed down their swords and their guns. The redcoats immediately pushed them into a corner of the ship and surrounded them.

When Will ordered his men to put down their weapons, they too were driven into a corner.

''Tie them up. If one tries to move, shoot them all'', George ordered.

The Royal Guard grabbed ropes and tied the hands of the pirates together. Their weapons were thrown overboard, and like animals, they were driven below deck.

Everyone. Except for Jack Sparrow and Will Turner.

As the Royal Guard divided over the ships and set course to a new destination, Jack and Will were tied to the mast of the Black Pearl. Will was unharmed, but Jack's left shoulder, upper leg and right arm were heavily bleeding, to general Nathaniel George's joy.

The general slowly kneeled down in front of Jack and smiled. ''Not so great of a captain, after all'', he mocked. Jack didn't respond.

''I've got your crew, I've got your ship, and I've got your daughter. How does that make you feel, filthy pirate?''.

Neither Jack nor Will responded to Nathaniel's mocking questions. But though he wouldn't show it, Jack felt hurt. It hurt him that they had taken over the Pearl AND the Dutchman, both of their crews, and that they held his little girl captive.

What hurt him even more, though, was the realisation that they were going to be dead very, very soon. Their ships would fall in hands of the redcoats, his crew would be either shot dead or hanged. And what they would do to Sophia, he didn't know. But he feared for her life.

The only thing that the court hated more than a pirate, was a pirate child.


	12. Chapter 12- The Gallows

**(You do not need magic to dissapear. All you need is a destination)**

**Chapter 12.**

Six hours later, just as Jack started to fall asleep, two rough hands grabbed his collar and pulled him up. ''Alright, filthy pirate. Time to move'', he heard someone say. When he opened his eyes, and it took all the energy in his body to do that, he saw that the ship had docked. Though it was early in the morning, the streets were empty, and the sky was a light pink colour.

As Jack, Will and both of their crews were forced out of the harbor, with guns pushed into the back of their heads, the town woke up, and the early-birds that left their homes immediately stopped what they were doing when they saw a gang of pirates being forced towards the court.

Jack ignored the curious glances that the towns-people gave him. All he thought about was the safety of his crew and the safety of little Sophia. She was just five years old. They couldn't kill a five year old child, could they?

The captain wanted to fight. They all wanted to fight, but most of the men were wounded and drained from all energy. Besides, without weapons, they stood no chance. So no matter how much their fists ached for hitting a redcoat in the face, it would be a death sentence.

Although, that death sentence was coming their way anyhow.

Neither of the pirates knew exactly where they were. They didn't recognize the people, or the harbor or the town. It vaguely reminded Jack of Seville, where he met Angelica over eight years ago. But they weren't in Spain. And he knew that, although his heart hoped something else.

The group of pirates was dragged into the court, through the fancy hallways filled with expensive art and gold, through massive iron doors, down a set of stairs until they finally came to a halt. Jack expected to stand in front of a judge, with people from all over town screaming and cursing at them, but he wasn't. They were standing in a cold, dark room, where droplets of water fell from the ceiling, onto the stone floor. And right in front of their noses were cells.

''What's this?'', Jack asked, and the pirates immediately started whispering to eachother. ''This is your home now'', general Nathaniel George answered with a wicked smile. ''Until you'll be executed, at least''.

Jack frowned and turned around. ''How about the trial?'', he asked. ''We are allowed to have a trial'', Will added. The crew started protesting immediately. The redcoats couldn't execute them without a trial. ''You can't send us to death without a fair judgement!'', Gibbs yelled. Pirates started yelling and moving anxiously, louder and louder until one of the Queen's Men hit Gibbs in his face. They immediately fell silent when they saw blood dripping.

Nathaniel George seemed amused by all the fuss. ''You will not have a trial. You are pirates, and so, you will be executed'', he answered. Again, the pirates started protesting, and this time, they ignored the threats, the weapons and the redcoats. They couldn't be executed before trial! It was simply against the law!

''Put them in their cages. Do not let them out'', George ordered when he was finally tired of the yelling and fighting.

The redcoats immediately started pushing the pirates into the iron cells, but the pirates pushed back, yelling and demanding a trial. Execution before trial was against the law. And they knew it. Including Nathaniel George. But all of their demands were ignored. They were pirates, after all, and who would ever defend a pirate?

Amongst all the chaos and the anger, Jack anxiously searched for Sophia. But he couldn't find her. He pushed people aside, called out her name and even looked at the ceiling. She wasn't there, and when he realised that, his heart skipped a beat.

''Where's Sophia?'', Jack asked. Nobody heard him. They were too busy fighting and yelling. ''Where is she?'', Jack called out, but his voice was lost among all others.

One of the redcoats pushed Jack towards the iron cell, but Jack roughly pushed him aside, flinching in pain when his wounds tore open. He wasn't going anywhere without his daughter.

He walked up to George with angry, threathening pases, but before he could do anything to the general, three redcoats stepped in and grabbed Jack's arms. They started pulling him back towards the cells, but Jack fought back even harder. ''Where is she?! Where is my kid?!''.

He couldn't possibly know where Sophia was. He'd last seen here yesterday afternoon, when the redcoats took his ship.

What had they done to her?

Nathaniel George turned around, looked at Jack and slowly walked towards him. As he looked right into the pirate's angry eyes, he smiled and said: ''She's gone. And you will never see her again''.

Something inside of Jack snapped. All of the anger towards Nathaniel George, all of the anger over Angelica's death, everything bottled up inside of him finally broke loose. With an infernal scream, he pulled himself loose from the redcoats and jumped on the general. Jack threw him onto the stone floor and started beating him, kicking him where ever he could. Blood stained the cold stones and screams of pain filled the suddenly silent room.

Redcoats desperately tried to get Jack off their general, but his anger was stronger than all of them. He kept beating George, in his stomach, in his ribs, his face, his neck. _She's gone. And you will never see her again._ The words echoed through his head.''WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!'', Jack screamed as he kept punching.

Suddenly, he grabbed the general's throat and clenched his fingers together, harder and harder.

The general couldn't breath. His blood-stained face was filled with terror and panic. He desperately tried to push the pirate off him, but he was too weak. His heart started beating faster than ever before. No air. The veins in his neck swelled. He gasped for air, his hands clawing at Jack's face. But Jack didn't feel a thing.

Just as Nathaniel George was about to pass out, suddenly, the grip on his throat loosened. As five redcoats pulled Jack away from their general, Nathaniel filled his lungs with air.

''WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY DAUGHTER?'', Jack roared.

One nice young redcoat tried to help George up, but the arrogant general pushed him away and jumped to his feet. George's face was filled with anger. Worse than anger. He was livid.

That filthy pirate. That worthless, filthy, deranged pirate had almost killed him. Had almost choked him to death. HIM. General Nathaniel George. Where on earth did he get the guts to do that?

As all of the other pirates were locked into their cells, George slowly walked up to Jack and stopped right in front of him. ''I will kill you'', Jack growled under his breath. George didn't answer. With an uncontrolled movement, he punched Jack in his face. Jack felt his nose break, and blood started dripping down his lips.

The pirates started yelling out in anger, cursing, threathening, trying desperately to get out of their cells, but they were locked. They couldn't help Jack, no matter how much they wanted to.

As two redcoats held Jack's arms locked, George kept beating him. In his face, in his stomach, everywhere he could hit the pirate. Blood wasn't enough for him. He wanted to kill him. He wanted to kill that piece of scum. Jack Sparrow was a worthless pirate that imagined himself to be captain, but he was nothing more than a peasant.

He put all of his anger, towards Angelica, his ex-wife, and the filthy pirate into his punches. George punched him so hard, so often, that slowly, Jack started to fall to his knees, but the redcoats kept him upright, and more punches kept coming.

The crew yelled out in outrage.

Finally, when blood stained the stone floor, George stopped. He threw one more blow to the captain's face, but Jack was too weak to respond. He couldn't feel it anymore. He tasted blood, he smelled blood, all he saw was blood and Nathaniel George's face. It seemed as if the general was taken over by the devil himself.

''You are worthless'', George hissed, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

Jack collected the last bit of his energy and slowly looked up to the general. Then he spit in his face. A mix of blood and saliva hit Nathaniel George right in his eye. The general froze, slowly looked up at Jack, and threw one more powerful blow.

Jack's body couldn't take it anymore.

Two pairs of arms pulled him up, dragged his body across the room and threw him onto the cold, wet floor. As the redcoats walked away, Jack could hear the iron door of his cage lock.

Pain. So much pain. Too much. He couldn't take it anymore.

His body went numb, the screams of his crew faded away, and everything around him went pitch-black.

Three days passed.

''-Charged with willfull crimes against the crown. These crimes of sinister nature include stealing, murder, mutiny and worst of all, piracy-''.

Jack's wrists were bound. His body still ached from Nathaniel George's fury. But in minutes, it wasn't going to matter anymore.

July 27th. Jack Sparrow, Will Turner and their crews stood in line, their bodies covered in filth, their growling stomachs underfed.

The courtyard was filled with towns-people who all desperately wanted to see the hanging of pirates. Because that was going to happen. Over 35 pirates would be hanged, and hundreds of people had come to see the infamous Jack Sparrow dangle at the end of a rope.

The gallows were a few metres away. On the side stood one of the Queen's Men, reading out loud the things that the pirates had been sentenced to death for. Piracy. In front of the gallows stood all the curious people, unpatiently waiting. Behind the gallows stood the pirates, in line, their wrists bound, energy drained from their faces, their bodies weak and dirty. Six pirates at once.

''- are hereby sentenced to the gallows, of which punishment includes-''.

Jack, Will, Pintell, Marty, Bootstrap and Cotton were pushed forward, onto the wooden platform.

Will slowly looked to the side, at Jack, but Jack didn't glance back. His thoughts were with Sophia. Was she dead? If she were, would he see her again?

The executioner walked passed the pirates and pulled the rope tightly around their necks.

Jack was too tired to fight, he was in too much pain. And though he couldn't care less for his own death, he very much regretted that his crew, his friends had too die with him. His mind wandered to Angelica. Would she be there, where ever she was? Waiting for him? Would Sophia be there? Could they only be together in death?

Jack slowly looked at the people in the crowd. They were whispering to each other, pointing at the pirates, softly laughing. Some women threw dirt and rotten food at them.

''Hang 'em already!'', one of the women screamed. Others clapped their hands, showing how they agreed with what the women said.

Jack didn't fear death. He never had. He looked right into Nathaniel George's eyes and smiled at him, mocking the man. The general clenched his jaws together in anger.

''To hang until death''.

As the executioner walked towards the lever, Jack let his eyes slide through the faces in the crowd once more.

Just as he accepted the fact that these stuck-up, fancy pancy people were going to watch him die, he suddenly spotted a very familiar face in the crowd.

... and it took his breath away.


	13. Chapter 13- Sophia

**(There is a certain kind of beauty and peace in death that no one will understand, except for the dead).**

 **Chapter 13.**

The floor beneath Jack Sparrow's feet dissapeared, and gravity suddenly pulled on his body. The rough texture of a rope spun around Jack's neck, the air was pushed out of his lungs, and his legs struggled to find something to stand on.

But there was nothing.

The crowd roared in excitement, the people started yelling, cursing, screaming, throwing dirt and rotten food at the six pirates that were hanging. Jack, Will, Pintel, Marty, Bootstrap Bill and Cotton were fighting for air, but neither of them succeeded.

Jack felt how his body weakened, he felt his heart race, his lungs screamed for air, but his dark, exhausted eyes were focused on only one face in the crowd. A very familiar woman. And the woman stared right back at him. In the chaos of the crowd, she was like a statue. She didn't speak, she didn't move.

The pirates started giving up. There was no point in fighting. They would never lay eyes on the sea again.

And just as the screaming, struggling bodies at the end of the rope stopped moving, the statue in the crowd moved.

She screamed, a loud, high-pitched noise, that strangely sounded commanding. And as if she controlled the universe with her scream, the gallows obeyed.

There were gunshots, many, many gunshots. People started screaming as multiple red coats fell dead to the ground. When the gallows started breaking apart and threatened to crush the crowd, people started running. Screaming, they pushed, punched and stepped on eachother, desperately trying to find their way to the exit.

And the gallows came down. The entire thing collapsed, and a few very unlucky peasants were crushed by the heavy wooden beams.

Suddenly, a large group of females appeared. They wore dresses like every other female in the courtyard, but they were different. They carried guns, swords, and they fought like men.

The redcoats desperately tried to collect themselves, but they were caught off guard by the women, and they stood no chance. The women were pirates.

One of them came running up the platform and cut the ropes with her sword, one by one. Cotton fell into the dirt, gasping for air, followed by Bootstrap Bill, Marty, Pintel, Will, and last but not least, Jack. The six pirates fell down on the hard, stone ground, but they could finally breathe again. As they layed there, exhausted, filling their burning lungs with warm summer air, the chaos continued.

The townspeople ran, as quick as they could, away from the fight and away from the pirates. Redcoats desperately tried to fight off the female pirates, and tried to force Jack, Will and their crews back into the court at the same time. But the female pirates were prepared. They threw their swords towards the pirates, and soon, every single pirate in the courtyard was armed with either a knife, a sword or a gun.

And so they fought, every pirate except for the six laying in the dirt. Nathaniel George was livid. He violently tried to fight the pirates, and called out orders to his men, but no one seemed to hear him. The Queen's Men were all frantically running around. They weren't used to being attacked so suddenly, without warning.

A few of the pirates lost their battles. Two female pirates were shot in the head and fell to the floor, dead. One of Will's men got jumped on by three redcoats and was stabbed to death. Jack lost three of his crewmembers.

But Jack, Will, Cotton, Pintel, Marty and Bill all layed in the dirt, recovering from the lack of oxygen. Their bodies were wounded, dirty, and exhausted. Jack felt like he was about to pass out, but he refused to. In the chaos of all the fighting, the screaming, and the gunshots, he searched for the woman's face. He wanted to know if she was still here.

His eyelids refused to let him find out. His lungs felt like they were on fire, his throat ached for water, and his bones felt broken. Even though he desperately tried to stay awake, he couldn't, and within seconds, Jack Sparrow was unconscious.

When he regained control of his body, Jack knew immediately that he wasn't in his cell. And he wasn't dead. He felt linen under his fingertips, he felt something cold on his forehead, he felt something dripping on his bare chest. He wasn't wearing a blouse. He could hear waves clashing against the side of a ship, and he heard men talking and yelling.

His body was still sore, and he was in a lot of pain, but he wasn't dead, and for now, that was quite something.

Jack slowly opened one eye, and after adjusting to the light, he quickly opened another. As he looked across the chamber, he recognized the furniture and his surroundings immediately. He was aboard the Black Pearl.

He sat upright so quickly that he suddenly felt light-headed, and it took him a few seconds to adjust.

He needed a drink.

Out of habit, he felt under his pillow and grabbed a bottle of rum that he hid there. As he took a big sip of the booze, he felt a sudden burn around his neck. When he raised his fingertips to touch his skin, someone interrupted.

''Don't touch. It needs to heal'', a soft, enchanting voice spoke. Jack frowned, put the bottle down and slowly turned, looking straight at the woman he'd seen in the crowd a while ago.

''You'', he spoke. The woman smiled and her full, pillowy lips pouted slightly. ''Hello'', she whispered.

Jack knew who the woman was. She was Scarlett Holmes, a woman he had met and (possibly, he couldn't remember because of the rum) slept with.

Scarlett Holmes was a woman in her mid-twenties, not a townsgirl, not a pirate either. She was everywhere and nowhere at the same time. She had thick, arched eyebrows that framed her ivory toned face perfectly. Her bright green eyes and her flaming red hair had always been a subject of other womens envy. Or maybe it was just the fact that Scarlett Holmes always did whatever she wanted, when she wanted to do it, no matter what the consequences were.

''What happened?'', Jack asked, slightly confused.

Scarlett smiled, put her gun down and slowly walked towards him. As she sat down next to him on his bed, she grabbed the bottle of rum, took a big sip and looked into Jack's dark eyes with a somewhat playful look. ''I rescued you. And your crew. And your ship'', she answered.

Jack frowned. He couldn't remember how he got back to the Pearl. He could only remember the gallows, and the chaos.

''How?''.

The woman jumped to her feet and her long, red hair sweeped over her shoulders. ''See, Jackie, I'm a pirate now. Even better, I'm a captain. And my entire crew is made up of fierce, strong women. When I heard about pirates being sent to the gallows, I had to come take a look. And when I recognized you, I couldn't bare to let you hang. So we saved you, we destroyed the gallows and killed a few redcoats''.

It was too much information for Jack to take in at once. His head hurt. But he was grateful that he was still alive.

Suddenly, he thought about Sophia. He jumped to his feet and flinched in pain, but he ignored it.

''My daughter. Have you seen her?'', he asked.

The woman seemed somewhat surprised to hear about a child, he was, after all, THE Jack Sparrow, impossible to tie down.

But she hadn't seen Jack's daughter.

Jack flinched. ''We have to go back. We have to get back there, now. Sophia must still be there. We have to get her back!'', he spoke, and he quickly walked towards the door. Scarlett grabbed his arm and pushed him onto his bed.

''Listen to me, Sparrow. It has cost me two of my girls to save you. I'm not going back to let those redcoats kill any more. They are searching for us. For everyone. And if they find us, they will kill you, and everyone else within a hundred feet of you'', she hissed.

Jack raised his eyebrows. He wasn't used to anyone else telling him what to do, especially not on his own ship, ESPECIALLY not by a woman.

''I have to get her back. She is all I have left. You don't have to come with us'', he answered angrily.

''Your men are wounded, they are exhausted, drained. You cannot risk their lifes. Not yet. They won't survive. The Queen's Men will be waiting for you to come back, and they will not give you a chance to live. When they see you, you're dead. The same for your men. Besides, I doubt the fact that your child is still alive. She's a pirate, after all''.

Jack jumped to his feet, grabbed Scarlett's throat and pushed her into the wall. As he looked into her eyes and clenched his fingers around her neck, he felt his heart break.

''She's not dead'', he answered. He refused to believe that. His little girl.. No. But he knew she could be. _She's gone. And you will never see her again._ That's what Nathaniel George said.

So if she wasn't dead already, he would certainly kill her. He would have his revenge for Jack's rescue by killing little Sophia.

''You've slept for two days. We're too far away to turn back now. You can't safe her, Jack'', Scarlett answered.

Jack gazed into her eyes, realised she was right and swallowed deep, then he let go of her throat, turned around and put his hands to his face.

He couldn't safe her.

''Where are we?'', Jack asked softly. ''Halfway across the Atlantic''.

Jack felt his heart break. His daughter. She couldn't be dead. She couldn't. But he knew that she was. Of course she was. Nathaniel George would kill her, just to hurt Jack. Because he escaped the gallows. He had no one left to kill, no one but her.

In complete silence, a tear rolled down Jack's face. He felt like he was being torn to pieces. The thought of his daughter in the hands of Nathaniel George killed him. He would rather die than lose her.

''It's going to be okay'', Scarlett whispered.

She walked towards Jack and put her hand on his bare back, running it upwards towards his shoulder and softly digging her nails into his skin. ''You are safe. Your men are safe. The Black Pearl, the Flying Dutchman, they are all safe''.

Jack couldn't answer. He wanted to cry, but he couldn't. His kid. The only thing on this earth that he had ever done right. The only girl that ever, truly needed his protection and his love. And he failed. He hadn't protected her. And now she was dead.

He felt how Scarlett turned him around and pushed him on the bed, but he was numb. He just stared into nothingness, while silent tears ran across his cheeks.

''You're okay'', the redheaded pirate whispered. Slowly, she sat down on his lap and layed her hands on top of his chest. ''You're safe''.

Scarlett softly ran her lips across Jack's cheek and with her tongue, she wiped away his salty tears. When she put her mouth to his neck and kissed the bruises caused by the rope, Jack didn't respond. When she ran her fingertips through his hair, he didn't respond. Even when she ripped open her blouse and exposed her bare chest to him, he didn't respond.

He couldn't feel a thing.

''You don't need anybody. You don't need that Spanish woman. You don't need your daughter''.

Scarlett took Jack's hands in hers and put them on her waist. Jack didn't respond.

''You only need me'', she whispered as she pulled Jack's hands towards her breasts.

''I want you, Jack. I've always wanted you. I can be good for you, you know. I can be- so, very good''.

Jack didn't move a muscle. He didn't look at her, he didn't feel her skin. It was like she wasn't even there. He lost everything. Angelica. Sophia. He failed to protect them both. It was all his fault. He wanted to scream, cry, but he couldn't.

But when Scarlett put her hand on Jack's inner thigh and slowly moved it upwards, she said something that made Jack wake up immediately.

''They're nothing'', she moaned softly.

Jack jumped up so quickly, Scarlett fell off his lap, onto the floor, and she looked up to him with big, surprised eyes. He grabbed her wrist, roughly pulled her up and then pushed her towards the door. ''Get out. Now'', he spoke angrily.

Scarlett looked at him in utter disbelief. ''But baby, I only-'', she started, but Jack cut her off. He grabbed the bottle of rum and threw it towards her. The glass shattered loudly and the liquid oozed out, over Scarlett's feet en the wooden floor.

''GET OUT!'', he roared.

Scarlett dissapeared immediately, and suddenly, Jack was completely alone.

There was no Angelica dancing around his cabin, singing for him in languages he couldn't understand. And there was no Sophia, holding his hand as she dragged him across the Pearl.

When he realise how alone he was, Jack finally broke down. He screamed, kicked, threw things, punched his fists into the wall until finally, his body gave up fighting, and he collapsed onto the floor, crying and screaming hysterically.

Though all of his men were safe, Will and his men were safe, and both of their ships were back in their hands, Jack had never felt so alone before.

He had lost the love of his life, and his daughter. And it was his fault. They were dead because of him. Because he failed to protect them, from Blackbeard, from Nathaniel George.

Jack suddenly felt so alone, so torn apart, so useless. He wasn't worth it. He couldn't do it anymore. If he could only hold his daughter in death, if he could only kiss Angelica when he was dead, he had to die. And so, he grabbed his gun, put it to his head -

and pulled the trigger.


	14. Chapter 14- September 27th

**(The future depends on what we do in the present).**

 **Chapter 14.**

The rising sun above Port Victoria coloured the sky in bright oranges and pinks, and although it was september already, the temperatures made it seem as if it was still july. Fishermen and sailors were always up early, just like the bakers and the housemaids. The people who had no reason to wake up at six o'clock in the morning were still fast asleep.

Except for one particular young woman.

Every friday morning, she would rise at five thirty, get dressed, and run towards the shore. She would sit at the same spot on the beach, every week, watching the ships leave Port Victoria and watching new ships from all over the world arrive. She was a curious girl, certainly, but for as long as she could remember, she had an unappeased craving for freedom.

And every week, that craving led her into the harbor, onto the beach. And so she would sit there, sometimes for an hour at the time, until she had to go back home. Her father didn't like it if she was late for breakfast.

This friday too, at six on the dot, the young woman sat in the warm sand, her knees pulled tightly against her chest, her arms wrapped around her legs. And she watched the sailors, laughing and drinking, saying their farewells and then setting sail to a new destination that could be anywhere in the world. And she would see foreigners come in, speaking languages that she couldn't understand. She loved imagining what they were saying, she loved thinking about where people came from, and where they were going. What had they seen of the world?

Two women in very tight, burgundy red dresses walked onto the pier, kissed a sailor on the cheek and then stepped aboard his ship. Was it that simple? The girl wondered if she kissed the bearded man on the cheek, would he take her along too? Maybe she could travel all over the world, maybe she would sail as fair as Europe. She read about Europe. Tales about the beautiful beaches, the richest cultures and the most delicious foods. Europe seemed so far away that for her, it was just a dream.

''Sophia!''.

The girl immediately jumped to her feet and turned around, but running away wasn't an option anymore. He had already seen her.

Her father came walking up to her with quick, determined pases. Although he smiled, Sophia could read in his blue eyes that he was irritated. He was quite a stern man, that was just the way he was, but the past week, he had been even worse than normal.

''Sophia, my darling, what have I told you about leaving the house?'', her father hissed as he came to a halt in front of her.

Sophia sighed softly and straightened a crease in her emerald-green dress before looking up to her father. ''You told me not to leave the house'', she answered softly.

Her father nodded and took her face into his hands, forcing her to look up to him. ''The world is a dangerous place. Especially the ocean. The ocean is filled with dark, evil creatures and filthy pirates, and if those won't kill you, the waves certainly will, and I will not have you dead, you hear me?'', he asked angrily.

Sophia nodded, because she knew that was what she was supposed to do. But the truth was that she wasn't afraid of the ocean. Not of the creatures, the pirates, or the waves. She loved the sea. On the contrary, she felt very attracted to the waves and the freedom they offered her.

''I'm sorry father, I- I just wanted to get some fresh air'', she explained stuttering.

Her father suddenly softened and smiled as he brushed a lock of her long, dark hair behind her ear. ''There's fresh air in our garden, too'', he answered slowly.

Sophia had never been able to figure out why, but her father seemed to have an unexplainable disgust towards the ocean and everyone that sailed it. Which was strange to her, because he used to be one of the Queen's Men, general Nathaniel George, and he sailed the seven seas all the time. But now that his dark hair was slowly turning grey, and his bright blue eyes changed to a dull, grey-ish colour, he had officialy retired. He lived in a big house on top of a hill, far away from the town, the people, and the sea.

Sophia had always lived in Port Victoria, but she'd never felt at home.

''Now come, dear. It's time for breakfast''.

Sophia George, now a young woman, was the daughter of general Nathaniel George and his former European mistress. She had grown up without a mother, without friends too, actually. Her mother died while giving birth to her, and since then, her father had been over-protective of her. Sophia was not allowed to leave the house, and if she really, really had to, four of her fathers employees would accompany her.

She grew up with books and a piano. There wasn't much to do when she wasn't allowed to leave the house. The housemaids, the cook and the gardener were her only friends. Sure, sometimes she felt sad about not having a mother. She wondered what her mother looked like, what her name was, where she came from and what kind of stories she would have to tell. Sophia dreamed about having a mother to braid her hair, with who she could go to the beach, because she was tired of going alone and getting in trouble with her father for it. Very often she'd asked her father about her, but he refused to tell her anything. He said he was in too much emotional pain about her death. And so Sophia stopped asking, because she didn't want to upset her father.

Although she looked nothing like him, not in looks and not in personality, she cared about him. Her father was the only family she had.

That afternoon, Sophia sat in her usual chair, on the balcony of her room, reading a book she'd read two times already. There weren't enough books left in the house. Besides playing the piano, dancing and sneaking off to the beach, reading was all she ever did. She wasn't allowed to leave the house to go to a party, to go shopping or meet girls of her age. So books were all she had.

With a deep sigh, she closed the book and put it down. As she stood up from her chair, Sophia admired the view from her balcony. She was able to look out over the entire town, a part of the beach, and to the far left, she could see a small section of the harbor and the sea that located behind it.

She longed to leave the house, to run through the streets, to steal an apple from one of her neighbour's appletrees and to eat it on the beach while watching the waves roll ashore. But she couldn't. If her father'd find out, he would punish her. The last couple of days, he'd been even more irritable than normall, and Sophia couldn't figure out why.

Sophia eventually turned around, left her room, and wandered through the endless halls of her house.

She lived in a very big, fancy house. She had maids to her disposal and expensive dresses to wear, but still, she desired more. She knew very well that desire was a selfish thing, her father had told her that, but she couldn't help it. She desired freedom, a mother - but for now, she desired a new book. So she walked into her father's library at the end of the never-ending hallway, shut the door behind her, and walked towards his desk.

He'd have a few books she hadn't read yet, for sure. Maybe poetry, if she'd search hard enough. Her fingertips brushed over the pile of books as she looked around the room. In the center stood her fathers desk, a big, dark wooden piece of furniture, surrounded by books and documents. On the walls were racks that went up to the ceiling, each rack filled with dozens of books that she had already devoured.

Suddenly, her eyes came across a pile of letters that were stacked in front of the fireplace. Sophia knew that her father burned documents and books in the fireplace when he was done with them, but the letters were all unopened. Except for one.

The young woman looked around the room as if she expected her father to suddenly appear, but once she was sure that he wasn't around, she curiously walked towards the fireplace and sat down next to the stack of letters.

The letters,six of them, were all adressed to one person. Her. _Miss Sophia George, Virginia Ave. 4292, Port Victoria._ A deep frown appeared between Sophia's dark eyebrows, and without hesitation, she started ripping open the lettres, one by one. The first one was sent on July 20th, only two days before her seventeenth birthday. The second one dated from August 3rd, then August 16th, August 24th, September 5th and the last one was from just over a week ago, September 18th.

Sophia quickly read through all of them. The first one was longer than all of the others, but every letter was more urgent than the one before. _We have to speak_ , she whispered out loud. _Your father is not who you think he is. You aren't safe._ Sophia felt confused. Who was this person? And why was he, or she, questioning her father? The stranger didn't even know her. How could she not be safe? She was home. Of course she was safe!

The last letter, dated September 18th, was the shortest of the bunch.

 _Miss George,_

 _Please, let me speak with you. I have important information regarding your life, your parents and yourself. The life you are living now is nothing more than a lie. Give me the oppurtunity to explain myself. Meet me in the White Horse Inn on September 27th, eight sharp._

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Joshamee Gibbs._

Sophia froze. September 27th was today! And it was six thirty. Although she had never heard of a Joshamee Gibbs, he seemed to have very important information about her life. Maybe about her mother, too. And she so desperately wanted to hear about her mother. If she wanted to meet this stranger, who seemed to know who she was better than she did herself, she'd have to be in the White Horse Inn within ninety minutes.

Could she do that? Could she just sneak away, meet a stranger? Maybe he was dangerous. Maybe he was a crazy person, maybe he was just a liar.

She had to find out. Her curiousity was bigger than her reason.

Just as Sophia tucked the letter under her dress, the door of the library opened, and walking in came her father. He turned around, looked at her, then looked at the letters, which were opened and spread across the floor.

He froze.

Nathaniel George put his glass of whiskey down with a loud bang, threw the door shut and quickly came pasing towards Sophia.

Although confusion was all she felt before, Sophia suddenly felt scared when she saw the look in her fathers eyes as he grabbed her arm and pushed her to the floor.


	15. Chapter 15- The White Horse Inn

**(We do not remember days. We remember moments).**

Chapter 15.

As soon as her body hit the floor, Sophia knew she was in deep trouble. And though she had a great bunch of questions, she knew not to ask. The rage in her fathers eyes said enough.

''What do you think you're doing, huh?!'', Nathaniel George yelled as he grabbed Sophia's face and forced her to look up to him. ''I-I wanted a new book to read'', she answered softly, but her father didn't even seem to listen. ''You disobeyed me!'', he yelled as he roughly shook her. ''Father, please, I was just-'', Sophia began explaining, but her father cut her off.

His hand hit the side of her face so hard that it caused Sophia to fall to the floor. At first, she was too surprised to feel a thing, but once the pain hit her, it hit her hard.

Never before had she seen her father so angry, and he had never hurt her. And now, suddenly, after reading a bunch of letters from a stranger, he turned into a devil. But why? What was the reason behind his anger? She couldn't understand.

Apparently, Nathaniel wasn't satisfied yet. When he layed eyes on the letters and saw them signed by Joshamee Gibbs, that filthy pirate, that scum, he immediately thought of Jack Sparrow and Angelica, and the fire within his heart found new fuel to burn.

He grabbed Sophia's hair, yanked her up and punched her again, right in the face.

Sophia was too stunned to do or say anything in her defense. She couldn't believe what had just happened, she couldn't believe that her own father would treat her like this.

The pain and the fear took over, and she had no idea what to do. In desperation, she tried to push her father away, but it only made him more angry.

''I'm sorry!'', she screamed, but her father threw her to the ground again. Pain seared through her body, blood dripped from her mouth.

''Please, stop'', she begged as tears streamed down her face.

Out of fear, she started crawling towards the corner of the room, but once her back hit the wall, she knew she was closed in, and there was no way to escape.

''How dare you?! I am your father! I am trying to protect you! How dare you disobey me?!'', Nathaniel screamed out in fury. Before Sophia had the chance to answer, he grabbed her by the throat, pulled her up and started yanking her out of the room. Sophia screamed, she couldn't breathe, but her father didn't seem to care.

''STOP!'', she cried out.

Nathaniel dragged her across the hallway, clenching his fingers around his daughters throat, making her gasp for air, until he finally stopped walking. He opened the door to her room and violently threw her to the ground.

Sophia fell to her knees and immediately turned around, but she was too late. She heard the key turning, and she knew she'd been locked up. A mix of blood and tears stained her beautiful face. She had no idea what to do, was this normal? Were fathers allowed to treat their daughters like this? Maybe. It was her fault, after all, if she hadn't been so curious, searching through his stuff, he wouldn't have done this. Of course not, she was his daughter, he loved her!

The young girl wiped away her tears and pressed her fingertips to her torn, bleeding lips while she pushed herself to her feet, walked towards her bed and fell down onto it.

Sophia stared out of the window with a blank expression on her bruised face, desperately trying to ignore the pain that she felt in all of her bones. After fifteen minutes, she finally gave in to her exhaustion and fell asleep.

When she woke up, the sky had turned dark blue, and a full moon shone on her exhausted face. Although she desperately wanted to fall asleep again, she couldn't. Even after her fathers violent outburst, she was filled with questions and curiousity.

She wanted to meet this mister Gibbs, and hear what he had to say. She wanted to know why her father was so angry with her. She wanted to know what had given him the right to beat her like that? Did he have a good reason for his fury?

She didn't know, but she was determined to find out.

So Sophia wiped her face clean, fixed her dress, and slowly walked towards her door. It was seven fortyfive, which meant that she still had fifteen minutes to escape the house and find Joshamee Gibbs in the White Horse Inn.

She could, of course, call out for a maid and hope that she would kind enough to release her, but her voice would certainly attract her fathers attention, and she didn't want him to know what she was doing.

So, her only other option was the balcony.

Immediately, she started pulling things off her bed. She grabbed everything she could find, two linen sheets, a blanket and a few pillow cases. With strong, fast movements, she tied the pieces together until they formed a long rope. Quickly, she walked onto her balcony, tied one end of the crafty rope to the railing, and threw it over.

It was long, but it wasn't long enough. She'd have to drop herself and pray she wouldn't break an ankle. She had no time to waste, it was eight o'clock already.

Sophia grabbed the railing, pulled herself over and swallowed deep. When she looked down, the height dazzled her. Three floors. Could she really do that? What if she'd fall? What if her improvised rope couldn't hold her weight?

No. She had to go. She so desperately wanted to know about her mother. She decided right then and there that she could, and she had to. Her curious mind won once again.

Carefully, she climbed down the linen rope, and she prayed she wasn't making any strange noises. The first floor went flawlessly, no one spotted her and most importantly, she didn't fall.

But once she reached the second floor, she could feel the linen slip from her hands. Sophia looked upwards, and when she saw the linen tied around the railing come loose, her heart skipped a beat. It was slipping away.

She was going to fall!

Sophia started climbing downwards even faster, as quick as she could, the linen slipping as she went. When she reached the first floor, the entire thing came loose.

With a scream, Sophia dropped two metres, straight into the grass. Her head hit the ground and for a second, all she saw was darkness, and all she felt was pain, but once she recovered from the fall, she quickly jumped to her feet, hid the linen rope behind the bushes, and started running.

Behind her, she could hear the front door open, but she didn't stop.

She ran as fast as her feet allowed her, through the woods, away from the safety of her home, faster and faster. She passed curious farmers and townspeople, but she ignored the weird looks. She couldn't care less what the people thought of her.

Sophia George, daughter of a respected general, running down the streets in a torn dress, into a bar? It must've been a weird sight.

Once she reached the bar, the young girl was out of breath, sweat beaded on her forehead, and it was fifteen minutes past eight. She was late, but she prayed that the stranger would still be here. After catching her breath and collecting her courage, she entered the White Horse Inn.

The bar was filled with laughing drunks; sailors and pirates and farmers, grabbing women and pulling their skirts up. The penetrating smell of alcohol and sweat caused Sophia to feel a little dizzy, but she kept on walking. It seemed as if there were too many people for such a small bar, but nobody seemed to care. There was music, there was alcohol, and there were women, and everyone seemed, well.. happy. They danced and drank as if they had no care in the world, no problems, no fears or troubles.

They seemed free, and in a strange way, Sophia felt at home.

After a few minutes, her eyes wandered to a man standing a few feet away from her. He wasn't dancing, he was alone and standing in the corner of the bar, his eyes locked on the pocketwatch in his hand. It was an older man, mid fifties, Sophia guessed. And because of his unshaped beard, his greasy hair and his sloppy looks, she also guessed he was a pirate.

He looked like a Joshamee.

Sophia slowly walked up to him and wanted to say hello, but at that same moment, the man's face turned. When he saw her, and their eyes locked, he froze. For a small second, he seemed sad. But then he started smiling like an idiot. The pirate walked up to Sophia with quick, determined pases, and without hesitation, he pulled her into his arms. Sophia had no idea what was happening, but she let it happen.

''Mother of the seven seas!'', the man called out when he let her go. ''Is that really you, Sophia?''.

The young girl nodded slowly and smiled a shy smile. ''Are you mister Gibbs?'', she asked. ''The one and only'', he said as he took her face in his hands and smiled.

''My God, girl, you've become quite the young woman''. Sophia had no idea what to answer. ''How old are ye now?''', he asked. ''Seventeen, sir'', Sophia whispered. Mister Gibbs laughed loudly and clapped his hands, as if she had just told him a funny joke.

''My, I am so glad you came. I've got so much to tell you, child! So much. Would you like a drink?''.


	16. Chapter 16- Broken, but healing

**(Those that truly love us will always find their way back into our life)**

 **Chapter 16.**

Joshamee Gibbs told Sophia everything he knew, he told her about Angelica, about her romance with Sophia's father, Jack Sparrow. He told her about the Black Pearl, all of the men on it, he told her about Will Turner, about Barbossa, Davy Jones. He told her old pirate tales and about all kinds of dangerous situations he and Jack survived. Two hours later, Gibbs' throath was sore from speaking, but Sophia knew everything there was to know about her parents.

Except for what had happened to them.

And Sophia couldn't understand what she was feeling. She felt confused, angry, happy and curious all at the same time, but above all, she felt betrayed and.. well, alone. Her father, her real father, and her mother, had both abandoned her. They left her like she never excisted. And her so called 'father', had never said a word.

Gibbs saw the hurt in Sophia's eyes and for a second, he questioned his decision to tell Sophia. But he knew that if he hadn't, Sophia would've never found out, and she would die thinking that Nathaniel George was her father.

''My life, everything.. my entire life'', Sophia spoke softly as she blankly stared at her hands, a frown between her brows. ''Everything was a lie''. Her voice cracked. '' The person I am, the life I am living, my 'family', it's all lies!''.

Tears rolled over her cheeks, but suddenly, she felt so angry that she refused to cry. With fast movements, she wiped her cheeks dry and clenched her jaws together. Her parents left her. Nathaniel was not her father. She had nowhere to go. Wherever she would turn, she would be living a life of lies. Forever.

''Where are they?'', Sophia asked, slowly turning to Gibbs.

Gibbs swallowed deep. ''Sophia, maybe you shouldn't-''

''WHERE ARE THEY?!'', Sophia screamed as she jumped to her feet. Her stool clattered to the floor and suddenly, the entire room fell silent as they stared at the young girl.

''I have the right to know, mister Gibbs! They are my parents, my real parents! Tell me where they are!'', she yelled out in anger.

Gibbs knew that under all of that anger, there was only pain and sadness. What she was doing now, being angry, was just a mask to hide her true emotions. He couldn't tell her. He couldn't hurt her even more than he already did.

''Please, Sophia, let me explain-''

''NO!''. As soon as the word left her mouth, she burst out in tears. Her heart felt like it was being torn apart. She had no one. Her parents left her. Her life was a lie. SHE, was a lie.

''PLEASE'', Sophia cried out. ''Please tell me, please!''.

Gibbs awkwardly looked around the room at the curious people. Sophia was in pain, and she was allowed to be, of course, but this would only attract attention. And he was afraid that maybe they'd attract the wrong kind.

So he too raised from his chair and tried to take Sophia's hand in his, but she pulled away and with a loud, heartbreaking scream, she smashed her glass of wine against the wall. As soon as the glass shattered and the liquor poured over the wooden floor, she started crying uncontrollably.

It was a heartbreaking sight to see.

A young girl, falling to the floor, grabbing her hair and crying like she had just lost everything she ever had.

And she had. She'd lost everything. Her parents, herself, and the life she lived.

''Tell me. Please'', she cried out, her fingers pulling on her hair.

''PLEASE'', Sophia screamed when Gibbs didn't respond.

Gibbs' heart broke and his eyes started burning, but he knew he had to be strong. He couldn't walk away and leave her like this. He had seen her grow up, happy, without worries, and seeing her now, like this, seventeen, broken hearted, screaming and crying on the floor of a local bar, it tore him apart.

Quickly, Gibbs took her arms, softly pulled her up and dragged her away from the curious eyes in the bar, into the corner of the room. As soon as the pirate and the young girl were out of sight, the music, laughing, yelling and drinking started again.

Sophia slowly sat down on a stool and wiped away her tears.

''I'll tell you, doll. But you gotta promise me you'll be strong, a'ight?'', Gibbs whispered as he took a stool and sat down in front of her. Sophia just stared at her hands, her lips put together, but after a while, she nodded and looked up to Gibbs, tears still shimmering in her dark eyes.

''First of all, you gotta know that ye parents loved you. More than anything in the world. You were their pride and joy, aye?''.

Sophia slowly nodded again.

Gibbs thought about what to say, how to tell her everything that had happened, but after a minute of silence between the two, he decided to just tell her. It was going to be hard on her, one way or another.

''Your mother was -Angelica, well, she- she died. She was killed when you were three'', Gibbs said softly with pain in his eyes.

Sophia said nothing. She stared at the wall behind Gibbs, one single tear dripped from her eye, but she didn't wipe it away. She just stared. It was almost as if every emotion had faded from her body.

Reality was, though, that everything in Sophia screamed of pain. She wanted to cry, scream, throw things, hit someone, Nathaniel. Her mother was dead. All that she ever wanted to have, her greatest desire, was a mother. Now that she knew her mother was dead, she would never have that again, and it broke her heart into a thousand pieces, but she refused to give in to her emotions. She didn't let them out, not again. She had to look controlled, capable of handeling whatever there was to come, even if she was secretly falling apart.

''And my dad?'', she whispered softly.

Gibbs swallowed and wiped sweat of his forehead as he collected all of his courage.

''After ye mom died, Sophia, Jack started falling apart. It broke him. Out of all the women he had ever been with, your mom was the only one that made him feel something. And I'm sure that if you hadn't been there, your father would've killed himself as soon as Angelica's heart stopped beating''.

Gibbs paused and looked at the girl for a second, but she didn't speak. There were just tears, rolling over her cheeks in absolute silence.

''But he didn't. He lived for you. He became a father, a good father. Not the best father, he made mistakes, but he tried. And he made sure you grew up in absolute freedom and happiness. But when you were five, well.. errr- some'ing happened. General Nathaniel George took everyone. Locked us up in a cell. Few days later, he sent us to the gallows. And we almost died there.. almost. But there were female pirates there and they, well- they saved us. But you were gone. Nathaniel had taken you. He told Jack that he would never see you again. Your father fought like a wild beast, Mother of the Seven Seas! I'd never seen him like that before. He punched and punched and kicked and no one could- well, point is- he fought for you. And he almost killed Nathaniel, right then and there. But the walking wigs' men pulled him off and the general beat the living hell outta Jack. We couldn't do anything to help him''.

Sophia listened without saying a word, and she desperately tried to imagine her fathers face, his voice, but she couldn't. She had no idea who he was, what he looked like, where he came from, when his birthday was. Nothing. There was nothing.

''When we were rescued from hanging, Jack passed out and woke up two days later. And he thought you were dead, Sophia. He thought Nathaniel killed ye, just to hurt him. It broke him. That same day, he put a gun to his head and shot himself. He'd rather die than live without you and Angelica'', Gibbs softly said.

Sophia's lungs burned because of the held back tears. She dug her nails in the palms of her hands and clenched her jaws together. Both of her parents, dead. Her mother murdered, her father had committed suicide. She had no one left.

''Then how did you find me, mister Gibbs?'', she asked. When she looked up at him, Gibbs saw her bottom lip tremble and tears drip from her eyes.

Gibbs smiled weakly and sighed. ''Well, I never believed ye were dead. And I figured that if Nathaniel still had ye, he'd keep you with the only person he'd ever trust; himself. So I took a wild guess and wrote some letters. It's a good thing you came tonight, 'cause I would've eventually given up'', he muttered.

Silence. For a while, neither of them knew what to say. Sophia was taken over by anger, sadness and hurt.

''Thank you'', Sophia whispered eventually.

Gibbs nodded and looked at her tear-stained face.

Sophia realised she couldn't go back to Nathaniel. He would lock her up if he knew she'd found out. Or worse. But her parents were dead, both of them. And she had no other family. She couldn't stay here, she had to leave Port Victoria immediately. General George would certainly come looking for her. But she had no money, no clothes, and there was nowhere to go. She would have to hide and run, live on the streets. A seventeen year old, beautiful girl, unprotected out on the streets, day and night.

Sophia felt scared and alone.

''I can't believe they're dead'', she said with a shaking voice.

Gibbs frowned.

''Dead? Oh no, dearie. Well, ye mom, yes. But Jack, he ain't dead''.

Sophia immediately looked up at Gibbs with big, teary eyes.

''But you-.. you said that he shot himself'', a confused look on her face.

''Yes. He did. But it didn't kill him. There wasn't enough gunpowder in the barrell. Can ye believe that?! The famous Jack Sparrow, the man who can do everything, couldn't kill himself. We found him just in time, stopped the bleeding, stitched him up but couldn't get the bullet out. It's still stuck in his skull. He's got a nasty scar, sometimes headaches, yes... but he ain't dead''.

Sophia looked at Gibbs with an open mouth, her eyes big as discs and suddenly, her heart skipped a few beats. Her father was alive! She jumped to her feet, grabbed Gibbs' face and planted a kiss on his cheek. Gibbs' eyes widened and his cheeks turned a light pink.

''Take me to him, mister Gibbs, please! Please take me to my father'', she begged him.

She felt hope. And that little bit of hope was enough for her to keep going.

Gibbs looked at her, took her hands in his and smiled as he stared at the girls' hopeful face.

''I don't think I have to, doll''.

And as he said that, the wooden doors of the White Horse Inn flew open-

and everyone in the bar fell silent.


	17. Chapter 17- Pirate Blood

**(A daughter needs a dad to be the standard against which she will judge all men)**

 **Chapter 17.**

Jack had absolutely no idea what Gibbs wanted in Port Victoria. His friend had insisted on docking here, and Jack couldn't possibly understand why. All he knew of Port Victoria was that Nathaniel George lived there, and that was enough for Jack NOT to go. But Gibbs kept on pushing and out of exhaustion, Jack finally gave in. They docked a few hours ago and he already hated it here.

Twelve years had passed since the pirate had last visited this town, and it had changed, but Jack hadn't. He was still captain of the Black Pearl, still drunk, still sailing the seven seas, robbing, fighting, stealing, still free, and most of all, still handsome. Except for a few grey hairs in his beard and a few extra wrinkles in his tanned face, he hadn't changed a bit. Women were still over him like pigeons over bread crumbs.

To any outsider, it would seem as if Jack were still completely the same. And though his appearance and his habits hadn't changed, he had, on the inside.

The loss of Angelica and the loss of his daughter had taken its toll on him. He tried to kill himself and failed. He pretended to be the calm, optimistic captain he was known for, but anyone that knew him well (his crew and Will) could see that the light in his dark brown eyes had faded.

Jack was filled with anger and pain, but he had it buried deep down inside of him, and he made sure it never saw the light of day. Not until he came face to face with Nathaniel George and Blackbeard. He would kill them, painfully, without hesitation. Make Blackbeard drown in his own blood and feed George to hungry mermaids.

But until that day came, Jack suffered in silence.

''Come to the White Horse Inn at nine, Jack. It's important''. That's what Gibbs had told him. He had no idea why, but Jack obeyed.

And so, captain Sparrow was making his way from the harbor into the town, towards the bar, fully aware of all the people staring at him.

''Bloody cakefaces'', Jack muttered as he quickly walked past a group of guards. His experiences with redcoats in the past were all lousy, and to this day he disdained them all, with their wigs and their perfume and leggings, running around the town 'protecting' people. When one of the guards turned around, Jack realised they'd heard him, so he quickly turned and walked into the bar.

When Jack Sparrow walked into the White Horse Inn, it didn't take him very long to discover his good friend sitting in the corner of the bar. He wasn't very hard to miss, after all. Even if he wasn't wearing a bright blue vest, Jack would recognize him in a crowd of hundreds.

Then, immediately after, he noticed something else. In front of him sat a young girl. Jack found she looked like the upper class of Port Victoria, very fancy, but her dress was torn and her long dark hair rested on her back in tangles, and her messy appearance confused him.

Though she was much younger, he immediately thought of Angelica when he saw the young girl. She looked so much like her.. it was almost creepy. For a second, Jack thought Angelica was alive, but then he realised. Slowly, the pieces of the puzzle started falling together. Gibbs forcing him to go to Port Victoria, where Nathaniel George lived, then forcing him to come to this bar..

It suddenly made sense.

And when the girl looked at him, and Jack saw her mysterious dark eyes, he immediately knew who she was.

His daughter.

''There he is'', Gibbs whispered to Sophia.

Sophia's gaze turned to the pirate standing a few feet away, and her heart skipped a beat. She recognized him. Vaguely, in the back of her mind, she recognized those eyes, the scar on his cheek, the dreadlocks. She knew, for a fact, that she'd seen him before.

And it made sense. Her father. He was her father.

''Sophia?'', Jack stammered, his eyes flashing over the young girl's face. Every inch seemed so familiar and so strange at the same time. And she was so incredibly beautiful. Spanish features, like her mother.

Sophia raised from her stool and slowly took a small step towards Jack. ''Dad?'', she whispered.

Jack looked at her in complete disbelief, because he couldn't understand what was happening. Was he dreaming? But then he nodded. Tears jumped to Sophia's eyes, and for a small second, neither of them did anything. Suddenly something inside of Sophia's heart exploded, and she ran. She ran as quick as her feet allowed her, towards her father, right into his arms, and Jack lifted her up, buried his face in her long hair and clenched his fingers to her dress.

His daughter. She was alive, healthy, beautiful, in his arms. Tears of pure happiness dripped from his eyes and as he pulled Sophia tightly against his chest, he leaned against the wall, because his legs suddenly felt like pudding. A part of Jack that had been brutally taken away from him, and that he thought he would never have back, had just returned. The only thing that he had ever done right in his life. His child.

''You're alive!'', they both cried out.

Neither of them cared for the glances or the curious stares that the people in the bar gave them. They held onto eachother like a drowning man to a buoy and for the next hour, they refused to let go.

It was like they found a lost piece of themselves after an eternity of searching.

Two hours later, when the sky had turned dark and most people had already fallen asleep, Jack and Sophia still sat on the beach, both holding a glass of rum in their hands, watching the steady waves roll ashore.

Disbelief was what they both felt. But besides that, they both felt... complete, in a way. Sophia now knew who her real father was (the badass captain Jack Sparrow) and she felt proud. They were so much alike. Both of them were adventurous, wild, both of them craved the ocean and freedom. Both of them liked parties, guitars and rum.

Jack finally felt happy. After a long time of pretending, he was reliefed to know that he wouldn't have to pretend anymore.

There was no shyness, there was no hesitation. Sophia felt comfortable telling Jack everything that had happened in her life since she was taken away from him, and Jack was honest about everything that happened in his.

''You look so much like your mother, it's almost frightening'', Jack said with a soft smile, staring at the sea.

Sophia looked at him and smiled a wide smile. ''I do?''.

''Oh yeah. Doll, I thought you were her when I first saw ye'', he answered, sipping from his rum.

Jack looked at his daughter and smiled when he saw the left corner of her mouth curl up, something Angelica always used to do when she tried to keep herself from laughing. One of the many things they had in common. Angelica and she had the same eyes, the same long, dark hair, the same pillowy lips and the same narrow, straight nose.

The only thing Jack could discover of himself in his daughter were her full eyebrows.

''You thought I was dead, didn't you?'', Sophia whispered softly.

Jack looked at her in silence and nodded slowly. ''I swear, love, I would've gone to the ends of the earth for you if I'd known you were alive''.

''I know'', Sophia said, and she meant it.

Although they had been apart for twelve years, they had picked up incredibly fast. In the past three hours of being together, they had talked more than Sophia had ever done with anyone else. They walked across the beach, they drank rum, watched the sun go down, and talked even more. And it felt like they'd never been apart.

But Sophia feared, and knew, deep down, that it couldn't last.

''I wish I would've known sooner'', Sophia said softly as she brushed sand off her dress.

Jack frowned slowly and looked at his daughter, who was slowly standing up. ''Where are you going?'', he asked, and his heart ached when he asked the question.

Please don't leave, was all he could think. He couldn't possibly force her to stay. But he wanted her to. He'd missed twelve years of her life, he didn't want to miss out on anything else anymore.

Sophia smiled weakly and desperately tried to hold back her tears.

She didn't want to leave. Sadly she had no choice. She feared what Nathaniel would do to her, but there was no other place to go.

''I need to get back. I won't tell him about you, I promise. I won't put you or mister Gibbs, or anyone else in danger''.

Jack quickly stood up and put his hands on her shoulders, looking her straight in the eye. ''You're not going back, doll. He'll know. He'll lock you up forever or he'll kill you''.

Sophia frowned. ''But I've got to sleep somewhere, I can't-''.

''No. You're coming with me. On the ship. You'll be free to do whatever you please. You'll be safe. I swear it. Just don't- don't go'', Jack said softly.

Sophia looked at her father in surprise, but then a wide smile appeared on her face and her big eyes lit up. ''I can come with you?''.

''Yes. You're my kid. You're a pirate, whether you like it or not. You belong on a ship. And you'll be the best damn pirate to have ever sailed the seven seas'', he answered.

Sophia's life had changed in just a few hours. This morning, she was general Nathaniel George's daughter, a first-class child raised with maids and servants. Now she was the daughter of two fierce pirates, she was a pirate too, her home was on a ship.. and she was free.

''So? Wanna come?'', Jack asked after a while of silence.

Sophia laughed, nodded, and launched herself into her father's arms once again.

And though everything seemed very blissful, listening ears had already heard of the father-daughter reunion, and some were determined to pay a visit.

 **I've got big plans for the next few chapters, so keep reading and please leave a review.**

 **xx**


	18. Chapter 18- Dark Clouds

**Chapter 18.**

Two weeks passed, and Sophia had completely adapted to the pirate life. She dressed like a pirate, fought like one, and climbed like one. She climbed higher than most pirates on the ship dared, all the way up to the crow's nest, just like she'd always done as a little girl. Gibbs taught her how to play cards and soon she became the undefeated queen of cards. Often enough, she'd play a game of cards with the crew and to make things more interesting, every player would put one of their belongings on a pile in the middle of the table. Sophia won, every time, robbing the pirates of their belongings and sometimes, their confidence too. But the crew loved her. It seemed as if that beautiful young girl never left, like she'd always been on the Black Pearl. Will had once again joined Jack and his ship on their journey across the globe, and he too cared for Sophia as if she was his little sister. Will was the one who taught her how to read a map and just in case she ever got in trouble and there was no map to help her, he taught her how to sail by the stars in the night-sky.

As for Jack, something in him changed ever since his daughter returned. The crew noticed he was happier, he seemed more alive and he was the wild, witty Jack he'd always been. Jack taught Sophia how to handle a pistol, which she learned very quickly, and she was quite good at it, too. The girl was able to shoot something that was located on the other end of the ship with only one bullet. She had a precise eye and a still, strong hand.

Sophia was still learning the art of fighting with a sword, which didn't come as easy to her. But nevertheless, Jack was incredibly proud of her. In two weeks time, his daughter had undergone an unbelievable transformation. Sophia herself had never been happier. She now had a father, a crew that felt like family, she was travelling the seven seas and most importantly; she was completely free. The only thing that she still missed in her life was her mother, and though it hurt her more than she wanted to admit, she also knew she couldn't do anything to get her back. Still, Jack told her everything there was to know about Angelica. It was the only thing he could do to give her an idea about how her mother had been.

Everyone on the Black Pearl and its companion, the Flying Dutchman, felt happy and secure.

There were some people in Port Victoria, however, who were very eager to destroy that happiness, once and for all.

Nathaniel George had rallied his former army of Queen's Men and he'd reached out to Hector Barbossa. Nathaniel promised Barbossa a thousand pieces of gold if he'd help him find Jack Sparrow. As if that wasn't enough, Blackbeard had heard about Sophia too, and he wasn't very fond of the idea that his granddaughter was with Jack.

From the east, Nathaniel George, Barbossa, and both of their crews were setting sail towards the Black Pearl. From the south, Blackbeard and his crew set sail. Jack was being closed in, and he had no idea.

''Sophia?'', Jack called from the rudder. Sophia, who was sitting on the edge of the Pearl, her legs dangling above seawater, looked up and smiled at her father. ''Grab ye sword'', he said as he walked down the steps, onto the deck. Jack held his sword in his right hand and kept his eyes focused on Sophia as he slowly walked towards her. Sophia smiled. Her sword layed on top of the barrel next to the mast. It was too far away to grab, and Jack was too close.

She fixed her eyes on Jack's, following his every move, trying to predict when he was going to strike. He had a tell. When he was about to attack, he twitched his left eyebrow, just a little bit.

Sophia stood up, on her feet. And when Jack's eyebrow twitched, he attacked. He swung his sword at her, but Sophia jumped over the blade, rolled over the deck, grabbed her sword and quickly jumped to her feet again.

Jack smiled and nodded slowly. ''Well done'', he admitted, walking towards her. Immediately, he swung again, and Sophia quickly stepped to his other side. ''Mind ye feet'', Jack said while circling around her. Sophia carefully stepped closer, and Jack attacked once again. The girl hesitated, then ducked to the right, but Jack's sword stopped just an inch in front of her throat. ''Trust your instincts, Sophia. Don't go right when you want to go left. I couldv'e killed ye'', Jack said, pulling back his sword.

Sophia swallowed deep and looked at the blade. If her father had been an enemy, she would've been dead now. ''Stay focused'', he said with a smile. Sophia nodded. Jack turned around and pretended to walk away, but just when Sophia's body relaxed, he swung his sword around and attacked her again. Sophia, who didn't expect another attack, tried to hold back Jack's sword with her own, but her sword flew from her hands and clattered onto the deck, a few feet to her right. Immediately, she grabbed her pistol from her belt and pointed it at Jack, but Jack grabbed her wrist, gave Sophia a push, and as she fell to the deck, he grabbed the gun from her hands.

The tip of Jack's blade rested on Sophia's throat. ''Good effort'', Jack smiled. Sophia sighed softly. She wasn't good with a sword, she was still learning. Her gun was her only defense, and now that she was disarmed, she could've easily been killed. ''The pistol is ye strong point, aye?'', Jack asked, grabbing Sophia's hand and pulling her up. ''Yes'', she answered. ''So what will ye do if ye ain't got a sword and your pistol's been taken?'', Jack asked. Sophia admitted she didn't know.

''You use the quality that most pirates don't have. Your speed. You're quick, doll. And you're tiny. Use your reflexes to disarm your enemy and use their weapons against 'em. Aye?''.

Sophia chuckled softly and nodded. ''Okay'', she answered. Jack softly kissed the top of her head, gave her back her gun and walked back to the rudder.

''You're not VERY bad, kid'', Will said teasingly from the Dutchman. Sophia turned around and looked at him with a smile. ''I hope not''. Will laughed. ''Jack's just worried. That's what dads do. They want their kids to be able to protect themselves''. Sophia knew that Will had a wife, Elizabeth, and a son. Their son was a few years older than Sophia, and he was living on an island somewhere with his mother. Will could only see them once in every ten years, and Sophia knew he missed them both terribly.

As Sophia tucked a bit of her hair back into her loose braid, she slowly walked towards her sword and picked it up from the deck.

Stay focused. Trust your instincts. Mind your feet.

A few hours passed, and the weather took a turn for the worst. Dark clouds gathered in the sky and the waves were higher, wilder, rocking the ship right and left.

''A storm, cap'n'', Gibbs said to Jack. They were both standing at the rudder, looking out over the sea. Jack looked up at the dark clouds. ''Aye, but we've handled a storm before'', he answered with a wide smile.

Suddenly, there was a loud scream from the crow's nest. ''COMPANY, CAP'N!'', Pintel yelled as he climbed down the mast.

Jack frowned, pulled his spyglass from his belt and put it at his eye. When he saw four ships coming towards the Pearl and the Flying Dutchman, his frown deepened, but when he saw the sails, his frown dissapeared and his jaws clenched together.

''What is it, cap'n?'', Gibbs asked.

Jack looked at his friend. ''Queen's Men. And Barbossa. Four of 'em'', he answered.

Gibbs, slightly confused, frowned. ''What on earth would Queen's Men want with Barbossa?''.

''I can only think of one reason why Queen's Men would want help of a pirate'', Jack said.

Gibbs froze. ''Revenge. It's George, ain't it?''.

Jack didn't answer, he just walked towards the railing and looked over his crew. ''LISTEN UP, YE DECK APES'', he roared. The entire crew fell silent and looked up towards their captain. ''We got company. Queen's Men AND pirates'', Jack yelled. Immediately, the crew turned their faces towards the ocean, where four large ships were sailing their way. Jack looked at Sophia, who was standing at the railing, her eyes focused on the royal ships. Jack knew what she was thinking of. Nathaniel George was on that ship.

''Arm ye'selves, make the cannons ready! LET'S FINISH OFF THESE SEADOGS!''.

The crew started cheering, raising their fists in the air, roaring loudly, running around over the deck, grabbing their swords, their guns. Some ran below deck to make the cannons ready. The men were filled with rage. They hadn't forgotten what George and his men had done to them. And they were eager to kill every last one of that scum.

''We've got time to turn, cap'n. Why risk the fight?'', Gibbs asked.

Jack wanted to answer, but Will, who was standing on the Dutchman, answered for him.

''Because Blackbeard's here too''.

Jack, Gibbs and Will both turned to the south and saw another big ship coming their way. Jack, who hadn't noticed the ship before, froze for a small second, but then the rage within him melted the ice.

He saw flashes of Blackbeard before his eyes. He saw him holding Sophia when she was a baby, he saw him pulling out a knife and dragging it across Angelica's throat. He had killed the love of his life.

It was Jack's turn to kill Blackbeard.

The Flying Dutchman and the Black Pearl had been made ready for battle. Both of the ships had loosened their cannons, all pirates had a pistol in one hand, and a sword in the other. All of them had bottled up fury that they eagerly wanted to release on Blackbeard, Barbossa AND Nathaniel.

The ships from the east and the ship from the south were closing in. Their captains were standing at the rudder, each with clenched jaws. Each of them ready to fight. It had started raining. Big droplets of cold seawater poured down on the pirates, soaking their clothing. But no one seemed to notice.

The Pearl and the Dutchman had come to a halt. They were patiently waiting for the attack.

Sophia, who clenched her sword in her right hand, looked up to her father and quickly ran up the steps. ''We can still turn'', she said anxiously. Jack looked at her and watched drops of rain fall from her eyelashes. ''We're not going to, sweetheart'', he answered softly. Sophia swallowed deep. Sure, she'd fought before, but those fights were just pretend, for fun. This was real. People, her friends, her family, were going to get hurt. ''But dad, please-'', she started. Jack cut her off. ''No, Sophia. Some day, you're going to have to fight. Today is that day. And today is also the day that I'll kill the man who murdered your mother, and the man that took you away from me''.

Sophia's bottom lip trembeled. She was soaked, cold and stiff. And yes, she was scared. She was by far the smallest, most unexperienced. And she wasn't good with a sword.

But she knew about Blackbeard. She knew that he was her grandfather. And she knew that he was the one that took her mother away from him. She could see the fury and the pain in her father's eyes. She wasn't going to die. Neither was he. Blackbeard and Nathaniel George, however, were certainly going to die.

Suddenly, there was a deafening noise. With unstoppable speed, a cannonball smashed the Pearl's railing. Wood flew through the air and a big, wooden splinter almost pierced Cotton's body. Jack dug his nails into his palm when he saw Nathaniel George standing at the rudder, smiling a sly smile.

''I'm afraid I'm going to have to kill every man on this ship, Sparrow'', he yelled.

Jack smiled. ''I'd like to see ye try''.

''Who in the hell are you?'', Blackbeard suddenly called out, looking at George.

Barbossa, who wasn't aware of Blackbeard being alive, furiously hit the rudder, grabbed his gun and pointed it at Blackbeard. ''You filthy sewerrat'', he growled.

Nathaniel George hushed him. ''Now, now, Hector. There's no reason to be so hateful. Not yet, at least'', he smiled. He then turned to Blackbeard. ''I'm general Nathaniel George from the Queen's Guard''.

Will and Jack followed the conversation, but both of them were quick to realise that it was about to blow up.

''And what is yer business here, general Nathaniel George?'', Blackbeard asked.

''Same as you, I suppose. I want to kill Jack Sparrow and every last member of his pathetic crew''.

Blackbeard smiled a wide smile and then looked at Barbossa, who still had his gun pointed at him. ''I think we're all here for the same cause, then'', he spoke softly.

Suddenly, Blackbeard grabbed his gun and shot Barbossa's hand, causing him to drop his gun onto the deck. With that first drop of blood, all hell broke loose.


	19. Chapter 19- Man Down

**Chapter 19.**

In between the screaming, the fighting and the rumbling of the sky, Sophia felt hopeless. She wasn't experienced enough to fight a pirate, at least not with a sword. But though she knew that, it didn't stop her from trying. She slit open backs, arms and legs, all in an effort to stop the attackers from hurting anyone she loved. She couldn't kill a man, of course not, but she could try to keep them from killing.

Within minutes, ten pirates had already found death, and the number was rising, quickly. There was screaming, growling. There was the sound of cannons being fired, the sound of wood crashing down on waves, the sound of sword on sword. And if that wasn't enough to worry about, the waves were getting higher and higher and the rain started pouring down faster.

It was chaos. And it felt like war.

Jack Sparrow had his eyes set on Nathaniel George and Blackbeard. He felt furious, murderous, hellish. All he wanted was to make those two men suffer. He wanted to kill them in the slowest, most painful way. For everything that they'd done to him, and Sophia, and Angelica. They were both going to suffer. Jack was so focused, so full of hatred, that he had no problem killing anyone in his path. Every man that was dumb enough to stand between him and his first target, Nathaniel George, was dead and thrown overboard in a matter of seconds.

Sophia, on the other end of the ship, was desperately trying to find a way to help. She tried to use her sword but she didn't trust it. She didn't trust herself with a sword, and it was her father himself who'd told her to trust her instincts. And her instincts were to not use her sword. She would have to make use of the things she was good at. Climbing. Shooting. And her speed. She set her dark eyes on the mast and looked up towards the crow's nest, rain troubling her sight. The sky was filled with big, dark clouds. But it didn't stop her. She had to get up there. Immediately.

So she took a run for it.

She put her sword in her belt, took a few steps back, until she stood with her back against the railing, and she ran. She ran as quick as she could towards the mast when suddenly, she locked eyes with one of Blackbeard's pirates. And he knew what she was going to do. The pirate grabbed his sword and growled at her. Then he ran towards her, his sword pointed at Sophia's chest. The young girl was about to be pierced. Fear took over Sophia's body. She couldn't move, she couldn't think. In a few seconds, she'd be dead.

Then, suddenly, there was a gunshot. The pirate attacking her dropped dead onto the deck, blood pouring from the wound in his head. When Sophia looked up, she saw Will, standing on the railing of the Dutchman, pointing his gun at where the pirate had just been. He said nothing, he just smiled, turned around, and jumped back into the fight.

Quickly, Sophia grabbed the ropes on the mast, pulled herself up with both arms and started climbing. Faster than she had ever done before. Halfway the mast, she grabbed her gun and spun it around in her hand.

''A'ight, you scum. Time to die'', she whispered to herself as she aimed.. and fired.

Sophia was a smart kid, certainly, very handy with a pistol, sassy and very fast, but she had never fought before. And though Will had never questioned Jack's parenting, he worried about the girl. She had never fought before. And she was just seventeen years old, it wasn't her time to die.

So Will promised himself that whatever happened tonight, he wouldn't let anyone put a finger on Sophia. He was protective of her, of course. His son was just two years older than her. Nineteen years old, and Sophia reminded Will of his son sometimes. He couldn't be with Elizabeth or his son, so in the meantime, he took care of Sophia.

Will was desperately trying to keep his men focused and sharp and fight, all at the same time. Pirates were coming from every angle of the ship, Will and Jack were outnumbered, and they both knew it. But Will also knew that Jack had something no one else had, something that could work in their advantage.

Years of rage and pain, all bottled up inside of Jack, just waiting to get out.

And Will knew it would.

After a few minutes, Jack had finally found his way to Nathaniel George. He had killed every pirate in his path. The wild sea, the high waves covered up the blood and bodies of the pirates already dead. Jack just wanted to send one more to hell. Nathaniel.

The rain caused the deck to be slippery, it troubled his sight and Jack was completely soaked, but his rage kept him motivated, and warm.

Nathaniel had done nothing to defend himself yet. He just stood there, watching Jack kill off his men, and Blackbeard's men, and Barbossa's men. He was waiting for Jack to come to him, because just like the captain of the Black Pearl, Nathaniel was filled with rage, and determined to kill.

As soon as George was in range of Jack's sword, he attacked. With a loud, furious scream, Jack swung his sword to Nathaniel's throat. When the general ducked, Jack grabbed his coat, spun him around and punched him in the face. Nathaniel immediately pushed the pirate away from him, looked at him with a sly smile and spit out the blood that filled his mouth.

''You haven't changed a bit, have you?'', he whispered as he circled around Jack. Jack didn't answer. He circled along with the general, their swords pointed at each other. ''You took her from me'', Jack hissed. Nathaniel just smiled, and Jack felt the rage within him rising.

''TWELVE YEARS!'', Jack growled, and he attacked again.

Nathaniel was quick in defense, holding back every single one of the captain's attacks, but Jack didn't give up. He forced Nathaniel towards the back of the ship, their swords clattering against each other, rain pouring down on their already soaked bodies. They cursed each other, screamed at each other. When they were close enough, their fists would swing wherever they could, and it continued that way. A fight of fury, rebellion and an equal desire to kill.

The rumbling of the sky and the lighting bolts striking into the sea didn't scare her. Sophia was used to being this high up in the air, even if it stormed. She could see everything, everyone from here. The men below here were easy targets. She'd shot three pirates and one Queen's Men. All dead. Though she had never killed someone before, she knew she had to, it was either them or her.

And it wasn't going to be her.

So she fired away. Her bullets struck her targets perfectly. They never saw it coming, they had no chance of defending themselves. They were all shot in the back of the head and Sophia had ten bullets left.

The screaming from below, along with the sound of cannons, didn't distract her anymore. But it should.

Sophia was so caught up in shooting pirates, she had forgotten all about the dangers around her.

Suddenly, she heard someone growl below her. But this time, right below her. Sophia spun around as fast as she could, but it was too late. One of the pirates had spotted her and grabbed her ankle, pulling her down. Sophia felt her weight shift and the rope dissapear beneath her feet.

A few feet before smashing onto the deck, she grabbed one of the ropes. It burnt the flesh of her palm, but she hadn't fallen to her death. She quickly looked up, blinking against the rain in her eyes, and pulled herself together. With one strong movement, she placed herself back in the mast and looked at the pirate above her. He grinned at her and grabbed his gun, but Sophia was quicker. Quick as the lightning in the sky, she pulled her gun out, aimed, and fired.

The pirate fell from the top of the mast all the way down to the deck. If the bullet hadn't killed him, the fall would've. Sophia grabbed the ropes above her and pulled herself up, higher and higher.

Back where she belonged. Back where she could kill.

Jack and Nathaniel had been in an agressive, never-ending fight for more than ten minutes now, but Jack was gaining the upperhand. He was stronger, faster, more determined than ever. And Nathaniel George knew he was losing.

And so he decided to do what he always did when he couldn't win. He cheated.

In the middle of one of Jack's attacks, Nathaniel pulled on Jack's coat, grabbed the pirate, disarmed him, and threw him down a stairs. Jack's body rolled down the wooden planks, he hit his head, his elbows, causing bruises to appear all over his body. It dizzied him. The tumbling made him lose vision and orientation. He couldn't tell left from right anymore. The pain that flinched through his body distracted him. At the last step, his head hit the side of the wooden plank and blood started dripping from the wound.

Jack came to a sudden halt, his body smashing against the wooden floor.

The pirate softly growled in pain and slowly rolled on his side. He had to get up. He knew Nathaniel was coming, he could hear his footsteps, slowly walking down the stairs, towards Jack. Jack desperately pushed himself on all fours and tried to stand up when suddenly he felt how Nathaniel kicked him in his stomach. Jack growled, fell down again and coughed loudly, gasping for air.

''You're weak, Sparrow. You've always been weak'', George whispered.

Again, Jack tried to get up. He wanted to fight, he wanted to kill this man, but George wouldn't let him. He roughly kicked Jack against his ribcage, grabbed his head, and smashed it into the floor.

Jack growled in pain and buried his nails into the palms of his hand.

He couldn't defend himself. But he had to.

He was disorientated from the fall, he was bleeding, and he had been disarmed. He had nothing to fight with besides his fists.

''You deserve everything you got. All the pain, all the sorrow. That whore of a girlfriend of yours, yes... Angelica. She deserved to die''.

''I can imagine her, begging for your help, gurgling in her own blood, screaming your name.. but you couldn't help her, could you?'', Nathaniel whispered, walking in circles around Jack.

Jack clenched his jaws together tightly and refused to let his pain get the best of him. Again, he tried to get up, but the general hit him on the back of his head, kicked him in the side, rolled him over with his foot and then kicked him in the stomach.

''You were too weak!'', Nathaniel laughed loudly.

Jack was in agony. He saw flashes of Angelica, screaming. He saw her dark eyes, focused on him, begging him for help. He could almost feel Angelica's hand, tightly grasping his, like she was trying to hold onto the last bit of life.

Nathaniel grabbed the captain, pulled him up and pushed him into the wall, his fingers clenched around Jack's throat.

''I'm going to murder you, you piece of filth. I'm going to kill every single one of your men. I'll send them all to hell with you. I'm going to burn the Black Pearl to ashes'', he hissed, his face close to Jack's.

Sophia was so caught up in her shooting, she didn't hear Will scream at her.

Will, who was desperately trying to fight off one of Barbossa's pirates, screamed Sophia's name as loud as he could, but she didn't hear him.

''SOPHIA!'', Will tried again. He pushed the pirate he was fighting overboard, grabbed his gun and aimed at the wood right above Sophia's head, hoping to get her attention, when finally, the young girl's face turned.

''SOPHIA!'', Will screamed, deleriously pointing at something behind her.

Sophia didn't understand, she couldn't hear Will above all the screaming, the thunder, the rain and the cannons.

The cannons.

When she finally understood, it was too late. Sophia turned her face as fast as she could and right before a cannonbal destroyed the mast she was hanging in, she saw a flash of Blackbeard's face.

Her own grandfather had fired a cannon, aimed at her.

There was a deafening blow, the Black Pearl's mast came down and crushed five unlucky pirates beneath it.

Sophia's body smashed into the wooden floor, and everything suddenly went black.

Will saw everything. He saw Sophia turn, he saw the mast crash down, with her in it, and he saw her young, fragile body smash into the floor.

Suddenly, time stood still for him. He looked straight ahead and saw Blackbeard, looking at Sophia's body with an ice-cold smile on his face.

Will's disbelief immediately dissapeared and changed into pure hatred.

With a roar loud as lions, Will violently pushed two pirates overboard, grapped a rope, swung over the wild waves, onto the Black Pearl. He passed forward, killed two men in his way, grabbed another rope and jumped aboard Blackbeard's ship, immediately walking towards the captain, who was patiently waiting for him.

Sophia's ears were ringing. She couldn't hear anything besides the high pitched tone in her head. Her vision was blury, her legs felt numb, and blood stained her face.

How far had she dropped? It must've been around fifteen feet..

She was alive, and miraculously, she hadn't been crushed by the mast. The world beneath her body seemed to spin, and maybe it did. Spinning or crashing waves hitting the sides of the ship, it didn't make any difference. Rain poured onto her face and washed the heavily bleeding wound in her cheek clean.

Suddenly, sound came back to her. It started softly. The screaming, the rain, the thunder, the waves crashing on the ship, the gunshots, but then it came back to her in deafening volume. Her legs woke up, and her sight sharpened. She saw, heard, and felt men run around her, and she suddenly remembered where she was and what she was doing. She had to get up, now.

Lying down was just an invitation to death.

So she shook off her dizziness, took a deep breath and rolled on her side. When she did, she saw Nathaniel George pushing her father down the stairs.

Sophia jumped to her feet and had to dodge a sword immediately. Someone had already seen her!

She dodged her attacker's sword once again. She didn't have a sword, and her pistol was of no use at this range!

So, trust your instincts.

And quick. Her father was in danger.

So Sophia did what she learned to do. Be smart. She kept jumping, dodging. When the pirate finally weakened in a moment of exhaustion, she grabbed a large piece of wood that had been blown of the mast and hit him on the back of the head with it.

The pirate went down without a fight. Flat to the ground. Just to be sure, Sophia grabbed her gun and shot him in the chest, twice.

For a small second, she just stood there and smiled. She wasn't big or strong, but she was much smarter.

Then, she quickly turned around and ran downstairs, towards her father and, unfortunately, Nathaniel George.

''And you know what I'm going to do then?'', Nathaniel whispered. His voice was mocking, he had a grin around his lips. An evil grin. He took pleasure out of torturing Jack.

Jack clenched his jaws together and growled in pain when the general tightened his grip around Jack's throat.

''Little Sophia'', the general whispered then.

'' I won't kill her, Jack, don't you worry'', he said with a wide smile. ''I'll make sure she'll have a good life. Walking the streets of Port Victoria as a whore, letting men fuck her for money''.

Nathaniel's grip around Jack's throat tightened even further when Jack furiously tried to attack him.

''Now now, not so hasty, Sparrow'', George chuckled.

''I'll kill you. Don't fucking touch her. DON'T YOU EVER TOUCH HER AGAIN!'', Jack growled as he tried to push Nathaniel away from him.

The general pushed him back into the wall even harder, his nails digging in the skin of Jack's throat.

''She doesn't deserve anything else, Sparrow. She's just like her mother. Just like you. Worthless. She'll be a whore. For the rest of her life'', he hissed, a slow smile spreading across his face.

''Then you'll have to catch her first'', a voice suddenly said.

Jack and Nathaniel's faces both turned towards the stairs, where Sophia was standing, her pistol aimed at Nathaniel's head. ''Let him go'', she hissed.

''Leave, Sophia. LEAVE'', Jack growled immediately, but Nathaniel cut off his breath, and Jack couldn't speak anymore.

Sophia ignored her father and slowly descended down the stairs, her eyes still fixed on Nathaniel.

''I said, let him go'', she spoke slowly.

The general ignored her.

''Well, well. I see you've become quite the young woman. How's the pirate life working out for you?'', George asked with a smile.

Jack, who couldn't breath, desperately tried to get to his knife, but Nathaniel had him pinned into the wall. He was helpless. And his daughter was in great danger.

''Let my dad go or I'll blow your head off'', Sophia hissed, and she stopped walking just inches away from Nathaniel.

Nathaniel smiled, looked at the pistol, at Sophia, and then nodded.

Slowly, very slowly, his eyes focused on Sophia, he let go of Jack's throat..

But Sophia trusted too soon. She lowered her pistol, and Nathaniel grabbed his chance.

He threw Jack into the wall, grabbed Sophia's arm and twisted it, causing the young girl to scream out in pain. The gun fell to the floor, and Nathaniel punched her in the face. Once, twice. The girl was defenseless. He twisted her arm again, threw her onto the floor, pulled her up by her hair and smashed her head into the wall.

Jack saw it happening, and he tried to get up, but fell down again.

Sophia, bleeding and broken, fell to the floor and stayed there, unconscious.

''See that, Sparrow? Weakness is in your blood. She's weak. Like you. Like her mother. Like Teague. Like-'', Nathaniel started, but suddenly, he felt the cold barrel of a pistol pushed into the back of his head, and he immediately shut up.

The captain had found his strength. Seeing his girl, his beautiful young daughter, being beaten by George, reminded him of Angelica.

His fear of losing Sophia had translated into strength.

''But strong enough to kill you'', Jack growled, and with those words, he pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened. The bullets were gone. Sophia had used the last two to shoot the pirate that attacked her on the deck.

Jack was caught off guard.

Nathaniel laughed, turned around, grabbed the gun, and hit Jack in the face with it. The pirate stumbled backwards and fell. Blood poured from his nose.

Nathaniel pulled him upright, grabbed his knife.. and stabbed.

Jack turned away. He didn't want to see the smile on George's face as he killed him. He didn't want to see his daughter lying helpless on the floor while he was dying.

But suddenly, there was the sound of a sword being pulled, followed by a groan of pain. And it wasn't Jack.

When he turned his face and opened his eyes, he slowly saw Nathaniel George sagging to the floor. A sword pierced right through his heart, his face was filled with pain and disbelief as he fell to his knees.

Behind him stood Sophia. Bruised and bleeding, but alive. ''It takes a little more to knock me out'', she hissed. Nathaniel slowly looked up to Jack, who stood there in utter disbelief.

Finally, Jack came to his senses. He locked eyes with Sophia, smiled widely, grabbed his knife, and pulled it across Nathaniel's throat.

Blood poured from the wound, and general Nathaniel George fell to the floor, dead.

Two hours later, the weather had cleared, and so had the ships. Most of the Queen's Men were dead, and those who lived had abandoned the Black Pearl. Barbossa realised Nathaniel George was dead and thus he wouldn't get his thousand pieces of gold. So, Barbossa immediately changed position and sided with Will and Jack.

Neither Jack nor Will trusted him, but they were too exhausted, too wounded to fight, so they let him.

As for Blackbeard, he was now a hostage.

Will, thinking that he'd killed Sophia, had become so angry that he attacked Blackbeard and won. He tied him down with ropes and threw his weapons overboard. Blackbeard's men surrendered on command of their captain and angrily returned to their ship.

The dead bodies were thrown overboard and taken away by the waves.

When Jack and Sophia walked onto the deck, the first thing they saw was the destroyed mast. But neither of them said anything, because what they saw next was far more curious.

Blackbeard, tied to the mast.

Jack looked at him for a few seconds, he pictured how Blackbeard killed Angelica, over twelve years ago. He walked towards him, pulling his sword from his belt, but Will grabbed Jack's shoulders and pushed him back.

''Let me kill him, Will. He took her from me'', Jack growled, his eyes focused on Blackbeard's smirk.

''No'', Will answered.

Jack immediately turned to him and frowned. ''Get out of my way!'', he growled furiously, but again, Will pushed him back.

''What do you want with him then?!'', Jack roared, his teeth clenched together.

Will looked at Sophia, who stood a few inches behind her father, to Blackbeard, and then back to Jack.

''We're going to get Angelica back. With his help''.


	20. Chapter 20- A Shimmering Silver

**(Hi guys! Haven't updated in over 2 weeks but I've been so busy with school. Thank god the storm is over so expect a lot of chapters soon! xo)**

 **Chapter 20.**

The Black Pearl, the Flying Dutchman and Blackbeard's ship: Queen Anne's Revenge, had sailed the sea for over two weeks now. Blackbeard had been thrown in one of the cells below deck. His crew was divided in two, one part worked on the Pearl, the other worked on the Dutchman. Under control of Jack and Will, of course.

Sophia had noticed something about her father, something had changed. In the two weeks time that Blackbeard had been on the ship, he hadn't smiled. Not once. Day in, day out, he stood at the rudder, his teeth clenched together, his eyes focused on the horizon.

And Sophia had heard the stories, of course. She knew her mother had been murdered by Blackbeard, but the sudden bitterness of her father scared her, slightly. She'd never seen him that.. cold. Of course she wanted her mother. More than anything in the world, but were they really better pirates than Blackbeard and his crew if they murdered him to return someone already dead? Sophia was fighting a battle between her heart and her mind, because what she wanted most didn't feel right.

On deck, the crew was working hard to keep the Pearl sailing smooth and swift. They too had noticed captain Jack's sudden change of behavior, but no one seemed to worry about it. Or they were too scared of what Jack might do if they said something. The only persons that seemed to notice were Sophia and Will.

''How does he want to get her back?'', Sophia asked softly. She had hopped over to the Dutchman and sat on the stairs, facing Will, who stood in front of her, looking out over the sea. Will sighed deep and clenched his jaws tightly together.

''Fayèn'', he answered softly.

Sophia frowned. ''What's Fayèn?'', she asked.

Will turned his head and looked at Sophia with a cautious smile. ''Not what. Who. Fayèn is a woman.. sort of. She brings back the dead, in return for another unfortunate soul'', Will muttered, and Sophia froze. ''She brings back the dead?'', she repeated. Will nodded.

''She lives on Snake Island, in the woods. Nobody knows how old she is but she's lived there all her life, alone. And there were pirates speaking of her a hundred years ago''.

''So she's over a hundred years old?'', Sophia asked.

''It is.. well, a possibility''.

Sophia looked to her left and watched her father steer the Pearl, the same determined look in his eyes as the past two weeks.

''So he wants to sacrifice Blackbeard.. to Fayèn, in return for my mother'', Sophia concluded, and Will nodded.

''How does he know she'll do it?''.

Will smiled softly and looked at the waves beneath him.

''Fayèn feeds of human flesh, blood. Everything. Some say she even devours the bones. Snake Island hasn't been visited in decades. She must be starving. She'll do anything for a body'', Will explained slowly.

For a few seconds, Sophia fell silent. If that was the truth, and Fayèn was indeed capable of doing anything for a body, she might as well eat everyone who sat foot on her island. Including them. ''But what if she decides to kill everyone and eat us all?'', Sophia asked indignantly.

''Than we'll... well, we'll be in trouble'', Will said with a small smile.

Sophia raised her full brows and swallowed deep. ''Would he really risk all of our lives for her?''.

Will didn't answer, but after a few seconds, he nodded slowly. ''He loved her. Truly. And true love drives a man to do crazy things, Sophia. You'll learn, one day''.

That same night, Sophia visited Jack in his cabin. He sat behind his desk, a bottle of rum in his left hand, his pistol in the right. The air was dry and warm and the waves were calm. It was a beautiful spring night, but Sophia felt something cold in the air.

''Dad?'', Sophia whispered as she closed the door behind her. Jack immediately looked up and smiled softly. ''Oi, beautiful'', Jack answered.  
Sophia slowly walked up to him and sat on the corner of his desk, looking down at him. ''Are you really going to give Blackbeard to Fayèn?''.

Jack frowned, and his eyes suddenly hardened. ''Who told you that, kid?''.

''Will'', Sophia answered honestly.

Jack sighed deep and rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand. ''I have to, Sophia, and I cannot tell you I would regret it. I won't. He deserves to die''.

''Maybe. But does he deserve to be ripped apart and eaten?'', Sophia asked. ''There must be another way''.

Jack looked up at his seventeen year old daughter and laughed, slowly pointing at her. ''That. Compassion. That you have from ye mother'', he chuckled.

Sophia didn't find it funny. ''Dad, I'm just suggesting.. maybe there's another way? Barbossa is sailing right behind us, he must know something!''.

Jack jumped to his feet so quick his chair fell down behind him. Sophia immediately sat upright. ''Listen to me, dearie. Blackbeard is an evil man. He tried to murder your mother once and he succeeded the second time. I'm doing you and every other person on this earth a favor by feeding him to that.. thing'', Jack hissed, his eyes focused on Sophia's.

Though she really wanted to tell him something else, Sophia knew it wouldn't be of any use. He wasn't going to let Blackbeard go. And maybe.. just maybe, he was right. She had always wanted her mother, right? This was her chance! It wouldn't be so bad.. he wouldn't suffer that long.. right?

Sophia nodded, slowly raised from the desk, wished her father a good night and left his cabin.

That next afternoon, the four ships docked near Snake Island. Barbossa, who was intrigued by the legend of 'Fayèn' was the first to step in a longboat, along with three of his crew members. Will took half of his own crew and Blackbeard's entire crew and stepped in a second and third longboat with them. Jack and his crew forced Blackbeard and the rest of Blackbeard's crew into longboats.

''You stay here, with Gibbs'', Jack said when Sophia tried to step into one of the longboats. The girl looked up at her father in surprise and opened her mouth to protest, but Jack was faster.

''No buts. You'll stay here. If we haven't returned when the sun sets, leave this island far behind you'', Jack said, looking at Gibbs with dark eyes.

Gibbs doubted for a small second, but slowly, he nodded and placed his hand on Sophia's shoulder. ''Aye, cap'n''.

Jack nodded, looked at Sophia, smiled and planted a soft kiss on her hair. ''I'll be back, love'', he whispered. Then, within two seconds, he sat in the longboat and followed after Barbossa and Will.

Sophia breathed in deep and looked at Gibbs, hoping to see some kind of reassuring smile, but his worried eyes were focused on the island. It was a big, dense island. All Sophia could see was trees and high cliffs. It looked uninhabitable. Dangerous, too.

A few minutes later, Jack, Will, Barbossa, Blackbeard and their men set foot on Snake Island and looked up at the trees. ''So this is it, Sparrow?'', Blackbeard asked with a sly smile. ''You're going to leave me here?''.

Jack looked back at Blackbeard and smiled a cold smile. ''Not leave. Kill'', he answered, and then he started walking, into the dense woods, followed by all of the others.

The trees were abnormally high, there seemed to be no sign of life. It was awfully quiet and hot, and no one could see past the first row of trees. They couldn't see a thing besides trees. Stepping right over a cliff was a very real possibility. 

Blackbeard, who had been terribly exhausted and dehydrated, hobbled before Jack's crew, who pushed them after Jack with their swords pointed in the captain's back. He seemed to know he was going to die, but he didn't seem to care.

''So what is it you're going to do to me, Sparrow?'', Blackbeard asked with a horse, cracking voice.  
''I'm not going to do anything to you, but I'm going to enjoy watching you die'', Jack answered without looking back.

Will looked at his friend, slightly worried. He didn't know this Jack, and he didn't really like it. He knew it was because of all the pain, all the anger within him, but Will still didn't like it.

The pirates worked their way through the jungle, beating off insects and poisonous snakes, dragging Blackbeard and his crew along. Barbossa, who had been quiet ever since they sat foot on the island, finally opened his mouth.

''Not to disturb the party, Sparrow, but when are we arriving? My wooden leg is startin' te hurt''.

Jack grunted softly and pushed aside two huge leaves and suddenly stopped walking. Will almost bumped into him. ''What is it?'', he asked, frowning. Jack smiled a wide smile. ''Gentlemen.. and such.. I think we've arrived''.

When Will stepped aside and he saw what Jack meant, his jaw almost dropped to the floor. A few feet before them was a cave, over thirty feet tall. Right behind it was an immense waterfall, rising high into the sky, disappearing above the clouds. Water rumbled down onto the rocks and into a lake with deafening noise. The front of the cave was hidden under foliage, but everyone knew that this was it. This was Fayèn's hideaway.

Without hesitation, Jack grabbed Blackbeard's collar and dragged him through the mud, towards the cave. Blackbeard tried to get up and walk, but Jack pushed him down again, he insisted on pulling the captain through dirt and mud. Jack pushed aside the leaves and walked into the cave.

For a few seconds, the other men were too stunned to do anything, but after looking around, they quickly walked after Jack and Blackbeard.

When they entered the cave, it was nothing like they expected. It had been decorated. Decorated with flowers and candles, furniture of bamboo and palm, it almost looked.. cozy. The deafening sound of the waterfall was just a hum inside the cave. Jack raised his eyebrows and slowly looked around. ''Well.. this is.. unexpected'', he muttered.

Suddenly, in the dark corner of the cave, he saw something move. A fast, silver shadow shot through the cave. The candles flickered by the wind of the sudden movement, but when they started glowing again, there was a loud scream. One of Will's men had been dragged to the other side of the cave. Behind him stood a slender, long woman. Her hair was silver like the moon. Her eyes were the eyes of a snake, a cold, steel grey. Her nails were so long they were capable of being swords, and she wore a dress that looked as if it had been created out of water.

Every man expected an ugly, dangerous monster. No one was right about the ugly, because the creature.. the woman, was beautiful, and she wasn't a monster, but she was certainly dangerous.

Her long, sharp nails were held at the throat of the taken pirate, her snake eyes focused on Jack and all the men behind him, her sharp, snake-like teeth exposed. A low hiss came from her throat.

Jack immediately realized the creature felt threatened. They had, of course, invaded her home with almost thirty pirates.

Jack looked at the snake-woman and slowly walked towards her. Fayèn immediately moved backwards into the cave, dragging the struggling pirate with her.

''Jack'', Will said with a warning tone.

Jack stopped walking and looked at the shimmering silver creature a few feet in front of him.

''I suppose you are the infamous Fayèn, aye?'', Sparrow asked with a sly smile.

The creature's eyes flinched from Will to Barbossa, and finally back to Jack.

''I am''. Fayèn's voice was a low, enchanting tone. It sounded like she was singing, but at the same time, her voice was filled with warning.

''We're not here to hurt you or your.. cave'', Jack said, looking around.

Fayèn laughed, a high-pitched tone, and with a loud smash, she threw the pirate before Barbossa's feet, who was standing feet away.

''Hurt me? You, hurt me? If you even try, all of you will be dead in seconds'', Fayèn hissed. Slowly, she descended from the shadows and walked towards Jack, when finally, she stood still in front of him. Jack looked into her snake-eyes and smiled softly.

''Well then, let's get to the point. I need you to get someone back'', he said.

Fayèn laughed again, softly this time, as she circled around Jack and ran her long, sharp nails across his shoulders. Jack didn't flinch, not one bit.

''Jack Sparrow'', she whispered. ''You come to Snake Island for my help? It must be serious''.

Jack smiled softly and nodded. ''It is'', he answered honestly.

''Then tell me, what will I get if I help you?''. 

Jack looked around the cave and watched Blackbeard and his men move anxiously.

''Blackbeard''.

Suddenly, the silver creature stood in front of Blackbeard, grabbed his throat and pulled him up to his feet. It didn't seem to be hard for her. Then again, she had just thrown a pirate through the cave. She was a force not to be reckoned with. The creature exposed her fangs and ran her tongue past her lips, her snake eyes focused on Blackbeard's, who looked at her with nothing more than hatred.

''Just this one?'', Fayèn whispered, looking at Will. Will immediately stepped back and brought his hand to his pistol.

''Just him. I know you're starving'', Jack smiled.

Fayèn nodded slowly and dragged one nail across Blackbeard's cheek, causing blood to slowly rise from the wound.

''So why wouldn't I just take all of you?'', Fayèn whispered with a sly smile.

Jack's eyes hardened and he brought his hand to his knife. ''I've heard the legends. If you kill more than you are being offered, you will drop dead immediately. You cannot kill us without dying yourself''.

Fayèn hissed an angry hiss and threw Blackbeard into the side of the cave, immediately turning to Jack.

''Then tell me, Sparrow. Who is it that you want?''.

Will, Barbossa and everyone else in the cave clenched their jaws together, their eyes focused on Fayèn and Jack.

''Angelica Teach'', Jack whispered. His tone was pained.

Fayèn looked at him in disbelief and smiled widely, then, laughing, she turned to Blackbeard. ''Well. You trade a father for his daughter'', she chuckled.

When no one laughed along with her, her eyes hardened again and she moved her head from side to side. ''Well then. Let's get started''.

Slowly, she started walking towards Blackbeard, who immediately tried to crawl away from her.

''Sparrow. Come on. You're not a bad man. Don't let an ol' pirate die like this'', Blackbeard said, crawling away from Fayèn.

Jack said nothing, he just stared at Blackbeard, enjoying the fear in his eyes. Will looked at Jack, and then at Blackbeard, but said nothing. Though he very much disliked killing Blackbeard like this.. he knew this was the only way to get Angelica back.

''Sparrow!'', Blackbeard said again once he was cornered against the cave wall. Fayèn walked up to her, her hips swinging from side to side, her fangs exposed, her claws out like weapons. Her silver shadow following every move Blackbeard made.

She slowly bent over him.

''SPARROW'', Blackbeard growled again. ''SPARR-''.

He was cut off. Fayèn's claw ripped through his flesh and bones, into his chest, and without even the slightest sign of effort, she ripped out his heart. It was still beating inside her hand. Blood poured from her nails onto the cave floor.

One of Blackbeard's men ran outside. Jack heard him throw up, and he smiled.

Blackbeard's eyes looked at his heart for a small second, disbelief and horror written all over his face. Then, his body sagged to the floor and his eyes faded.

Fayèn raised from the ground, the heart in her hand, and licked the blood from her fingertips.

''I hoped he'd put up more of a fight'', she whispered slowly, turning around and throwing the heart into a big, silver grail.

''Well then. Angelica Teach, you said'', she muttered.

No one said anything, all pirates were frozen, even Barbossa seemed a little sick. Jack, however, was fascinated by the creature. He watched her pour some grey-ish liquid in the grail, along with a few strange-looking plants.

''Give me something of hers'', Fayèn said, sticking out her hand.

Jack frowned for just a small second, but then he remembered something. When Barbossa had kidnapped Sophia, after the party at George's house, Angelica had thrown away her wedding ring, and he had caught it.

Quickly, Jack grabbed the ring from his pocket and put it in Fayèn's open hand. She looked at it for a small second, smiled, and then threw it into the grail.

There was a deafening sound, the pirates were blown against the walls, and for a small second, the entire cave was lit up by a silver light. Fayèn stood in front of the grail, her eyes focused on the bright light coming out of it, her silver hair flowing in the sudden wind.

Just as fast as it had come, it disappeared again. The cave went quiet again, the silver light disappeared.

Slowly, the pirates raised from the ground. There was silence for a few short seconds, but Jack was the first. He couldn't take it anymore.

''Did it work?'', he asked quickly.

Fayèn rolled her eyes and smiled. ''The waterfall'', she whispered.

Jack frowned, but then he turned around and ran out of the cave as fast as he could.

The others looked at Fayèn for a small second, some in disgust, some in absolute adoration. ''Keep his men too'', Barbossa said, pointing at Blackbeard's men.

Fayèn smiled widely and focused her snake-eyes on them as Barbossa, Will and all of the other pirates ran outside, after Jack.

Jack ran through the trees, pushing aside everything in his path, running faster and faster, as quick as his feet allowed him. The sound of the waterfall became louder and louder and suddenly.. he saw it. He saw the water pour down from above the clouds, into a silver-shimmering lake.

On the rocks, at the side of the waterfall, lied something. And Jack immediately knew who it was. Angelica. Her hair was wet, her eyes were closed and she was dressed in an oversized white blouse, nothing more, but he immediately knew it was her.

His heart stopped for a second, and then it started beating faster than ever. He ran over the slippery rocks, almost falling twice, towards her, where he fell to his knees. Slowly, he took her into his arms and ran his fingertips across the side of her face.

''Angelica, my love'', he whispered softly. First, there was no response, but then, slowly, Angelica's eyes opened. Dark, big, beautiful, mysterious, just like Jack remembered. She looked at him for a second, and then frowned softly. ''Jack?'', she whispered with a cracking voice.

Jack laughed loudly and nodded, tears shimmering in his eyes. He softly grabbed her and pulled her onto his lap, her head held against his chest, his hands around her warm body, his lips placed on her wet hair.

''I've missed you.. terribly'', he whispered, tears slowly rolling from his eyes.


	21. Chapter 21- Good things make you sweaty

**(Since I won't be updating the upcoming 2 days, I wish you all a very merry Christmas. I'm working on something cool, by the way; it's all about Sophia. Also, if you happen to be a Lord of the Rings geek like me, check out my newest fanfic** **)**

 **Chapter 21.**

Sophia had been impatiently walking over deck for the past two hours, staring out over the sea, her eyes focused on the shore of Snake Island. She worried, of course. Her father was out there, putting his trust in a hungry monster that was supposed to bring her mother back. And if it worked, what if it did, would her mother know her? Would she be able to remember who she was, and if so, could she love her?

And what if her mother wasn't the mother she expected? What if it was someone completely different? Could Sophia still love her, then? Could she have a bond with that woman?

''Dad told me I was three when she was murdered'', Sophia said without looking away from the shore.

''Aye'', Gibbs answered from behind her.

''Will she recognize me?''.

Gibbs laughed softly. ''Child, you are like your mother in every possible way. It would be impossible not to''.

Sophia didn't answer anymore. Her eyes had spotted four small specks coming back towards the Pearl.

''Hand me your spyglass'', Sophia said. ''Quick!''.

Quickly, Gibbs stepped forward and handed her what she asked for. ''Do they have Angelica?'', he called out.

Sophia put the spyglass to her eye and inspected the first longboat, filled with Barbossa and his crew. The second held Will and his men. In the third sat her father's crew. In the fourth longboat sat Cotton, who was rowing. In front of him sat her father, in his arms a beautiful, foreign woman. She was dressed in nothing more than an oversized blouse, and she seemed to be asleep.

''I don't know. But I think so'', Sophia said, handing the spyglass back to Gibbs. Without her even noticing, a huge smile appeared on her lips.

Was that her mother? That beautiful young woman that her father was holding onto? She must be. There is no other woman.

Within five minutes, the first two longboats arrived. Barbossa and his men climbed aboard Queen Anne's Revenge.

''What happened to Blackbeard and his crew?'', Gibbs asked with a frown between his thick brows. ''Eaten'', Barbossa muttered as he walked towards the rudder of the ship. ''But have no fear, master Gibbs. I'll take good care of this ship. Aye''.

Gibbs pulled a slightly cranky face and looked at how Will and his men climbed aboard the Flying Dutchman.

''Is she okay?'', Sophia called out to her father. Jack looked up from the woman in his hands and smiled softly. ''Never better'', he answered.

Sophia was so impatient that she literally dragged the crew aboard so that they made way for her father.. and her mother.

The longboats were pulled in once again, and with Angelica in his arms, Jack quickly stepped out. ''Is that her?'', Sophia asked, cautiously stepping forward.

Jack brushed Angelica's damp hair out of her face and smiled as he looked at her closed eyes. ''The one and only''.

Sophia stepped forward to look at her mother a little closer, but at that exact moment, Jack turned around and walked to his cabin. ''Master Gibbs, prepare the woman a dinner as I put her to bed''.

Gibbs nodded quickly and ran below decks, as Sophia hurried after her father. She tried to sneak in after him, but her father layed Angelica down on the bed and looked back at Sophia.

''Not now, darling''.

Sophia just wanted to look a little closer, she wanted to see her. Twelve years, she had waited for this moment, and now she wasn't allowed to go in. ''Please, dad-'', she started, but Jack shook his head.

''I know you've waited a long time. But you need to understand that she needs rest. You will meet her, I promise you. Just not tonight'', and with those words, he shut the door.

Sophia couldn't move. With a lump in her throat, she stared at the wooden door in front of her. She so desperately wanted to go inside and look at her mother, listen to her stories, discover her personality, hear her voice. She could not remember a thing that had to do with her mother. She never had a mother. Now that she did, she was just three feet away, but Sophia wasn't allowed to see her.

''Don't take it the hard way, kid. The cap'n is just worried about her'', Pintel suddenly said. Sophia turned around and nodded slowly and forced a smile. Then she slowly turned and walked the same way she came from.

As she walked onto the deck, she saw Gibbs walk into the cabin, a plate of food in his hands. He was going to meet her before her own daughter could.

''Sophia'', a voice suddenly called.

Sophia turned her face and looked straight at Will, who stood on the railing of the Flying Dutchman. ''Come sit'', he said with a smile.

The young girl grabbed a rope and swung over the calm waves, onto the Dutchman. She smiled at Will. ''What is it?'', she asked curiously.

Will patted next to him. With a roll of her eyes, Sophia sat down next to him.

''How does it feel?'', Will asked. ''Having a mother after all this time?''.

''I don't know yet. It doesn't feel real. I suppose it will, eventually. Just not yet''.

''I promise you she's a great person. A great pirate, too. Maybe even better than your father'', he chuckled.

Sophia couldn't help but laugh too.

''Listen, I just wanted to let you know that I will be leaving, soon'', Will said suddenly.

And the smile on her face disappeared again.

''Leaving? Why? Where?'', Sophia asked immediately.

Will smiled.

''I'm going to see my wife, Elizabeth. And my son. Ten years have passed once again. I'm allowed to visit again''.

''Allowed?'', Sophia frowned.

''The captain of the Flying Dutchman is bound to his ship. He cannot go ashore but every ten years. Another ten years are over. I can go back to my family''.

Sophia saw the pain in Will's eyes, and immediately, she felt bad. She knew he had a son, but she had never asked him where he was. She had never asked him about his wife either. It never crossed her mind.

''That's great'', Sophia smiled. ''I'm happy for you''.

''Thank you''.

''How old is your son?'', Sophia asked.

''He turns twenty in six months''.

''So that means you've only seen him once before. When he was ten'', Sophia said, a shocked expression on her face.

Will nodded slowly. ''He knows about me. Elizabeth has told him everything. I write him, often. He's an intelligent kid. He takes good care of Elizabeth and himself. He's built a cottage, you know. Of nothing more than bamboo and palm trees'', he said laughing.

Sophia laughed too. ''So he's handy as well'', she said. ''What's his name?''.

''Caleb'', Will answered with a soft smile.

Sophia noticed the loving tone in which he spoke, and her heart broke a little. She had missed out on her mother for twelve years, but Will had missed so much of his sons life. Everything. In twenty years time, he'd seen his son one day. Soon to be two days. She felt awful for complaining. At least her mother was with her.

''Caleb Turner. Sounds very pirate-y'', Sophia said to cheer Will up.

Will laughed and nodded. ''Well, yes. But he isn't, not quite. He's used to the land''.

Sophia smiled. ''He sounds great. I'd love to meet him one day''.

''Why don't you?'', Will asked suddenly.

Sophia looked up with big eyes. ''Meet him?''. Will nodded.

''I couldn't'', she answered.

''Of course you could. You could come with me, visit the island, my son, my wife. I'll bring you back safely, of course''.

Sophia didn't know what to say. Ever since she met her father, she hadn't left his side. Not once. And her mother had just returned.

''But- but, you've got only one day. I couldn't take that time from you''.

Will smiled. ''I think it would be good for Caleb, to meet someone new. And that way, you can expand your circle of friends as well'', Will smiled.

Sophia opened her mouth and closed it again, not knowing what to answer to that. A part of her really wanted to explore something other than the Black Pearl, but another part of her broke at the thought of leaving her family and friends behind.

''Just think about it. There's no rush. I'm leaving in three weeks'', Will said. He winked at her and then hopped of the railing, walking back to the rudder.

Sophia was left behind, calm on the outside, but struggling on the inside.

Jack sat on the side of his bed, holding Angelica's hand in his as he watched her sleep. She was beautiful as ever, she hadn't gained a wrinkle, not a grey hair, nothing. She was still the same. The same woman he loved twelve years ago, the same woman he had loved since he met her.

Around the time of her death, Jack struggled with himself. He hated himself for being so cruel to her. For abandoning her, twice. For never telling her how much she really meant to him.

Because the truth was, his world excisted out of three things and three things only. The sea, his daughter, and Angelica.

Those three things made him who he was. They gave him life. And when one of those things was missing, he didn't feel complete. For twelve years, he had been incomplete. He had been suffering in silence.

Now she was back, laying in front of him, beautiful as ever. Jack looked at the plate on the nightstand. The food had gotten cold, she'd been asleep ever since he brought her aboard. That was four hours ago. The sky had turned dark, outside. The waves were steady and calm.

It was a warm spring night.

Softly, as if he was afraid to break her, Jack let go of her hand and raised from his chair.

He walked to the door and opened it. It creaked loudly, and Jack cursed it softly.

''Stupid door'', he muttered.

Suddenly, he heard a movement behind him. ''Jack?'', a soft voice whispered.

Jack froze and slowly looked over his shoulder. Angelica's eyes were open, she still looked tired. She held her hand up against the candlelight in the cabin. ''Jack, is that you?'', she whispered again.

Jack woke from his short coma and quickly shut the door. ''Yes'', he answered as he walked back to her. He sat down on her bed and took her face in his hands. ''How do you feel?''. Angelica swallowed deep and looked at him. ''Fine. What happened?'', she asked.

Jack saw fear, and tears in her eyes. Absolute terror. And he realised that she knew. She knew she had been gone. Tears came to Jack's eyes. Her voice. Her soft, swaying voice with that undertone of Spanish accent. He had missed that voice, so much. He softly brushed her cheeks with his thumbs.

''You have been gone, my love. But you're back. And you're safe, I swear''.

Angelica looked around the cabin and then slowly raised her hand, inspecting them with her eyes. ''Am I alive, or are you dead?''.

Jack couldn't help but chuckle, even though tears shimmered in his eyes. ''You're alive''.

Angelica looked up at him with big, dark eyes as if she was trying to wrap her mind around it. ''I'm alive'', she repeated, and Jack nodded.

''I've missed you so much, Angelica. My life wasn't the same without you'', Jack said, softly crying.

Angelica looked at the captain in front of her, and though she recognized his face, she didn't recognize his personality. Those words, that she had been wanting to hear ever since they met, Jack Sparrow wasn't one to throw around words like that.

Jack Sparrow didn't cry. He wasn't emotional. And he never truly loved a person.

But apparently, something had changed him. Because this man, this loving, emotional man in front of her really was captain Jack Sparrow.

And he belonged to her.

For a small second, she looked at Jack's shaking body as tears streamed down his face. He kept saying sorry, he just kept apologizing.

Without saying another word, Angelica grabbed his face, pulled him closer and pushed her lips on his.

Both of them were startled by the feeling of their lip melting together. They hadn't kissed in twelve years. Twelve years, they had been apart.

The simple kiss that Angelica gave, turned into something completely different. First and foremost came their desire. Their hunger for each other.

Jack pushed Angelica down onto the bed and slipped his hand under her blouse, running his fingertips across every bit of skin underneath it. Angelica broke away from their kiss, only to take control and push Jack down, rolling on top of him as she pulled her blouse over her head and threw it to the floor.

Jack looked at her, her beautiful, naked body, and couldn't help but smile. He grabbed her hair and pulled her closer, melting their mouths together again as Angelica ripped open Jack's blouse.

Her fingertips traced the scars on his chest. She didn't need to look. She knew exactly where the scars were, she knew exactly how they had gotten there. Every scar, every dimple and every strange speck on his body was familiar to her.

''You're mine'', Angelica whispered in his ear as she moved her hand into his trousers.

Jack moaned at the feeling of her fingertips and rolled his eyes back.

''Say it'', Angelica pleaded, quickly removing his pants.

Their clothes were thrown across the cabin and soon, both of them were naked.

Jack rolled over, hanging above her so that Angelica could wrap his legs around his wast.

''I'm yours'', he whispered.

Softly, he placed a kiss in her neck. From there, he traced his lips downwards, over her breasts and her belly.

''Now-'', Jack continued. Roughly, he pushed her legs apart, placing kisses on her inner-thigh, slowly moving more towards the middle.

''-and the days after that, for the rest of my life''.

Without the slightest warning, he put his mouth between her legs, making Angelica's body flinch in surprise.

Almost immediately after, Angelica's moaning filled the cabin as Jack discovered every crease on her body, using only his tongue.

When Angelica couldn't take it anymore, she pulled Jack onto her body again and pressed her mouth onto his. Their tongues twisted around eachother, their teeth clashed, but neither of them cared. They were longing for each other.

Jack grabbed her face, kissed her even harder and pushed himself inside of her.

In almost violent ways, their bodies moved together, Jack panting, sweating, Angelica moaning, scratching open his back and his arms, begging for more, challenging him.

Their heart rates kept rising, they left marks on eachother and Angelica bit Jack's lip so hard that it started bleeding.

When finally, both of their bodies had enough, Angelica came to a screaming end, her body shaking. As Jack too reached his point of ecstasy, he folded his hand over Angelica's mouth to soften her screaming.

Panting and sweating, their bodies stopped moving, but Jack stayed on top of Angelica as he grabbed her face, planted a kiss on the tip of her nose and smiled.

''I've missed that too'', he grinned.

Their sex wasn't sweet, it wasn't cute or loving. It was rough, violent and dirty.

But then again, sex is only done right when it's dirty.


	22. Chapter 22- Two Versions of the Same

**A belated Happy New Year! Make it a good one, guys. It's all yours.**

 **Chapter 22.**

The next night, a warm spring night in late April, Sophia stared at the wooden floorboards of her cabin. The waves were steady, softly rocking the ship. There wasn't a sound to be heard, nothing. Blackbeard and his men had left their company a few days ago. Now it was just the Pearl and the Dutchman.

Angelica had been aboard for five days, but Sophia still hadn't seen her. Every time she asked her father about it, he said she was asleep, not feeling well, or not ready. But Sophia was so ready. She wanted to meet this mystery woman, that was also her mother.

Will assured her it had nothing to do with her. He told Sophia that Jack just needed a little time with Angelica, alone. And because Sophia knew how much her father had suffered because of Angelica's death, she said nothing.

But this night, her desires were bigger than her self-control. She was restless, moving from side to side in her wooden bed.

She imagined it was something around three o'clock at night, but sleep was not an option.

So she stepped out of her bed, stepped in her boots and softly left her cabin. As she walked over the deck, the wooden planks beneath her feet creaked softly. She walked to the ship's beak and looked out over the dark waves.

The night was very clear. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the soft wind felt warm. The moon was full and thousands of stars shun down on the waves, giving them a beautiful silvery glow.

Sophia leaned over the railing and stared into the depths beneath her and she thought of Will's offer to go with him. He'd leave in two weeks, so she'd have enough time to think about it, but more and more, she wanted to go.

If she was ever going to be captain of her own ship, she wasn't going to be around her parents all the time. And the sooner she started exploring the world on her own, the sooner she would be a strong, fierce captain. She dreamed of her own ship every night.

Suddenly, she heard a loud creak behind her. Sophia quickly turned around and looked straight at a woman whose face she didn't know, though she knew exactly who the woman was.

Her eyes were big and dark, her lips full, her eyebrows thick and her hair was long, full, and wavy. Just like Sophia's. The woman and the young girl looked exactly alike, though there was a significant age difference. Two versions of the same person.

''Sophia'', Angelica whispered softly. When moonlight shun on her face, Sophia saw tears shimmering on her mother's cheeks.

Sophia's breath was taken away, she didn't know what to say. She knew she was going to meet her mother eventually, but she didn't expect it to be NOW.

She opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say. Her knees felt weak and she felt her eyes burning. ''Mom'', she stammered softly, and as she said it, her voice cracked and tears started rolling from her eyes.

Within a second, Angelica grabbed her daughters hands and pulled her against her chest tightly. Sophia clenched her fingers around Angelica's blouse and buried her face in her hair. Both of them slowly dropped onto the deck crying, tightly holding on to each other.

'' _Eres hermosa, mi hija_ '', Angelica cried as she took Sophia's face in her hands. ''You are so beautiful''.

Sophia tried to stop crying, but she couldn't. Finally, after all those years of wondering and asking, she met her mother. She wasn't alone anymore.

''Why did you leave me?'', Sophia cried out.

She knew it was an unreasonable question, but it was a question that had haunted her all her life.

''I'm sorry!'', Angelica cried. ''But I love you. so much, Sophia. I have always loved you. You are my life''.

Sophia couldn't respond. She wanted to, but her throat was on fire from crying so hard, so her mother pulled her closer and kissed her on her head.

Angelica remembered the last time she saw her daughter. On the deck of the Black Pearl, twelve years ago. Sophia was five, in the hands of a pirate, a gun put to the back of her head. Jack was screaming, fighting the men who held him down, trying to get to her.

She could still feel the cold steel of a dagger against her throat. But at that moment in time, she couldn't care less about her own life. All she wanted was for her daughter to be safe.

''I was so alone'', Sophia cried.

Angelica's heart broke.

''I know. I cannot tell you how much I've missed you. But it was you or me, baby. And I couldn't have lived with myself if you died'', she whispered as she wiped away the tears on her cheeks.

Sophia looked up to her mother, tears still shimmering in her eyes.

Her mother's voice was warm, loving, with a hint of Spanish. She was beautiful, she looked strong and mysterious and exotic. And her arms felt safe. It felt.. normal. It wasn't strange or forced.

''I didn't know who you were. I didn't even know my own father'', Sophia whispered.

Angelica knew. Jack had told her everything, about Nathaniel pretending to be her father, about Gibbs reaching out to Sophia. She knew everything, and she felt extremely guilty about it. The thought of Nathaniel made her furious, but she knew he was dead already. And if he hadn't been, she would've gone after him by herself.

''I will never leave you again'', Angelica whispered. She softly wiped away Sophia's tears and kissed her on the forehead.

''I'm not leaving, you hear me? I will be with you, always''.

Sophia nodded softly and put her head on her mother's shoulder. She still had so many questions, so many things to say and to tell, but now was not the time. For now, she just wanted to stay here, with her mom, and hold her.

''You are my daughter, and that will never change. Even if one day the world turns upside down. You and me, and your father, that will never change'', Angelica promised, softly rocking Sophia in her arms.

For the first time in years, Sophia felt complete. She had a father AND a mother. After years of feeling like something was wrong, everything was finally right. And she didn't care that they had spend twelve years apart. This woman was her mother, and she was everything Sophia had hoped for.

''I love you, mom'', Sophia whispered softly.

Angelica's bottom lip trembled, and a single tear fell from her cheek.

''I love you too, _querida_. Very much''.

When Angelica woke up, the first thing she felt was the burning of her throat. She had stayed up all night, talking to Sophia. Telling her stories about Jack, about how they met, about Nathaniel George, about Sophia's first five years. And she had listened to Sophia, who told her everything about her own life, about everything she had done and all the things she still wanted to do. Angelica had gotten to know her daughter in just one night and she loved her even more than she already did.

Suddenly, the door of the cabin opened and Jack came walking in, a soft smile on his face.

''Morning. Or should I say, afternoon'', Jack chuckled.

Angelica smiled too and sat upright. ''Is it that late?''.

Jack nodded. ''Two o'clock, dearie. Rise and shine'', he answered.

Angelica laughed and raised from the bed. ''I've been up all night'', she explained.

Jack nodded again. ''I know. Sophia told me'', he said with a smile.

''She did?'', Angelica asked surprised.

''Aye. She's mad about you''.

She smiled softly and walked towards Jack, putting her fingertips under his chin and looking into his eyes. ''She's a beautiful human being, Jack. Thank you, for taking care of her'', she whispered.

Jack looked at Angelica and smiled widely. Then he kissed her on the forehead and sighed. ''She's tough and stubborn. Like you'', he muttered, pretending to be irritated.

Angelica laughed and pushed him out of the cabin. ''Go, be a captain. I'll be right down''.

Jack wanted to say something witty, but before he had the chance, there was a loud gunshot, immediately followed by screaming.


	23. Chapter 23- Devil's Cave

**Chapter 23.**

''Cap'n!'', Gibbs yelled from the other side of the ship. Jack immediately turned his face to his friend, and when he did, his eyes widened.

Aboard Will's ship stood three pirates, familiar, good men to Jack's eyes. Lance, Pedro and Waris. Part of Will's crew. But they had their guns pointed at three different people. Lance pointed his gun at Will's head, Will held his sword to Lance's stomach, his jaws clenched together. Pedro had his gun aimed at Sophia, who had her fingers wrapped around the trigger of her gun, pointed in Pedro's direction. The third gun was pointed at Angelica, who stood on Jack's left.

Lance, Pedro and Waris were three very loyal crew members. They had worked under Will's command ever since he became the captain of the Flying Dutchman, and now they were holding guns at the three people he cared for the most.

''What is the meaning of this?'', Jack asked, calmly. He knew, of course. It was obvious. The three pirates weren't under Will's command anymore.

Both the crew of the Pearl and the Dutchman had their hands around their weapons, ready to attack the three traitors. Jack slowly pushed Angelica behind him, but stubborn as she was, Angelica immediately stepped back in Waris's aim.

''We're taking the Dutchman, and the Pearl too'', Pedro answered in his foreign accent.

Will laughed loudly. ''Really, with three men?'', he asked angrily.

Lance smiled widely. ''It's all we need, captain Turner''.

''You'd be dead in a heartbeat, gentlemen'', Jack said, slowly walking down the stairs, onto the deck of the Pearl.

''If you shoot us, we'll take these three with us. At least one of 'em will die'', Waris grinned, looking straight at Angelica.

Jack knew he was right. No matter how quickly his crew would pull out their guns, at least one of them would be faster. He'd lose his best friend, his daughter, or the woman he loved. And if he was really unlucky today, all three.

''Why is it that now, you decide to abandon your duty as a loyal pirate?'', Jack asked, walking towards Gibbs.

''At first we just wanted the Dutchman, you see. We're sick of being the dog, the helper, the smaller men. We want to be captains. And we will''.

''Not under my watch'', answered Will. ''I trusted you''.

Pedro laughed. ''That's your fault, ain't it?''.

''Well. I cannot say I don't admire your desire but, if you all act like the gentlemen you are, you must see there's another way'', Jack muttered slowly.

''I mean, two ships and three captains? How is that going to work?'', he continued. ''Who's going to be the official captain?''.

Pedro, Waris and Lance quickly glanced at each other. They hadn't thought of it yet.

''If I were you I'd throw Lance overboard right now, he's not much of a pirate is he now?'', Jack said with a witty smile.

Will, who felt Lance's gun push on his forehead, slowly frowned. It wasn't the right time for Will to piss of Lance. If Lance got an itchy finger his brains would be all over the place. But he'd been by Jack's side long enough to know he always had a plan. He just hoped it wouldn't include his own death.

''Well, we'll figure that out later-'', Waris laughed.

''See mate, that's weak. It's just weak. You cannot take two ships without knowing what your position is. Don't you think these two will be glad to kill you so they be a great, almighty captain?'', Jack continued.

Again, the three men glanced at each other. Lance seemed angry, Waris seemed worried, Pedro's expression was blank.

''Make a decision, mate'', Jack said.

''Fine!'', Pedro yelled. ''Me and Lance will be captains'', he growled.

Waris quickly looked at Pedro. ''Whot? I don't think so. I say me and Lance become captains!''.

''Aye!'', Lance agreed loudly.

''Are ye turning against me now, Lance?'', Pedro asked as he spun around and pointed his gun at Lance.

''Get your gun out of my face!'', Lance yelled.

''Or what? Ye can't shoot yer captain'', Pedro answered with a mean grin.

''But ye ain't!'', Waris and Lance both called out as they pointed their guns at Pedro.

Jack knew he succeeded, and so did Will.

Jack grabbed a rope and swung over to the Dutchman. As he landed, he kicked Pedro in his back, right over the edge of the Dutchman, into the ship.

Will twisted his hand around Lance's wrist, pulled him closer, smashed his head onto Lance's nose and then pushed him after Pedro.

Waris, the third and by far the weakest of them all, looked at Jack, who held his sword pointed at him, and then at Will, who stood on his other side, his finger on the trigger of his gun.

Immediately, he dropped his gun and threw his hands in the air.

''I thought so too'', Will said angrily.

Jack smiled, grabbed Waris's shirt and swirled him around, towards the edge, and then over it, into the salt water.

''Bye now!'', he called out.

All other pirates, including Will and Jack, started laughing loudly as they watched the three mutineers drift behind.

The laughing continued for a few seconds but suddenly, Pedro's head disappeared beneath the waves. Within a second, he was gone, and he did not come up.

''Where'd he go?'', Gibbs asked with a frown between his thick brows.

Jack slowly walked closer to the edge and focused his eyes on Waris and Lance. They were screaming, waving, grasping for something to hold onto, but there was nothing but water.

Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, both of them disappeared beneath the blue waves.

''What's going on there?'', Angelica called out as she walked to the edge, followed by the rest of the crew.

Jack frowned. Neither of them came up anymore. It almost seemed as if they were being... dragged down. Immediately, Jack froze.

Because that was exactly what it was. Something dragged them down.

''Gibbs, where are we?'', Jack called out with an alarmed tone.

Angelica noticed the concern in his voice. ''Jack, what is going on?'', she called out as Gibbs rushed towards the rudder.

Jack didn't answer. He stepped onto the edge of the Dutchman and held on to a rope as he looked straight down into the water.

''Gibbs?!'', he demanded.

''Yes, yes, I have it here somewhere'', Gibbs answered as he quickly traced their route on the chart. ''Yes, here! Right now, captain, we find ourselves to be near..'', he gasped for air. '' _Devil's Cave_ '', he added slowly.

Immediately, the men on the ships started talking to each other, panic in their voices. They walked away from the edges, held onto their weapons even tighter.

''I thought so'', Jack said slowly.

''What is that, Jack? What is Devil's Cave?'', Angelica called from the deck of the Pearl.

Jack looked up at her and pulled his sword from his belt.

''Mermaids'', he answered.

Angelica froze for just a second. Then, she turned around and pulled Sophia away from the edge. ''Mermaids?'', Sophia called out.

She'd never seen mermaids. But she heard about them. She heard about their beauty. How could such beautiful creatures be so dangerous?

''Grab torches, guns, swords, knives, anything to defend yourselves. These are not the mermaids we know, gentlemen. These do not lure you into the water with singing and beauty. These are ugly, violent, they sink ships and eat every living thing they encounter'', Jack called out.

And if that weren't bad enough already, they also jumped. Feet high.

Immediately, the pirates started running, grabbing anything they could find. Some ran downstairs to make the cannons ready, others went on to grab more weapons. A few fell to their knees and started praying.

Jack had heard about Devil's Cave. And he knew that these 'mermaids', these monsters, would not rest until every single men.. and woman, on these two ships were dead.

Jack slowly looked away from the water, towards Angelica and Sophia, who were both preparing their weapons.

He couldn't protect them, not now. He couldn't even protect himself. But he knew, that if he had to, he would throw himself between all of those devils for them.

He had just gotten Angelica and his daughter back. They were not going to be taken away. Not now.

''MERMAID'', someone suddenly screamed.

Jack swirled around immediately. Right before his eyes, he saw the ugliest thing jump out of the water. It clawed at the closest pirate it could find, shoved her long nails in the pirate's shoulders and pulled it down, over the edge.

Within seconds, the air was filled with screaming and yelling. Jack jumped off the edge, grabbed his sword, and pulled a pirate away from another mermaid's claws.

They were in very big trouble.


	24. Chapter 24 - Fire & Water

**Chapter 24.**

Within a matter of seconds, the Pearl and the Dutchman were surrounded by dozens of mermaids. They shrieked, they screamed, they jumped and took down every pirate in their way.. one by one.

And there was nothing that could be done.

Will barked orders at his men to keep steady, to fire the cannons, to shoot every mermaid they saw and stay away from the railings, but mermaids were coming from everywhere and pirates disappeared like snow under the sun.

''JACK!'', Will screamed as he shot a mermaid in her tail. ''THERE'S TOO MANY!''.

Jack, who was standing on the railing, shooting at every mermaid that tried to jump over it, knew he was right. There were too many.

Jack looked at Gibbs, who stood aboard the Pearl, pushing Sophia behind him. Sophia, brave and stubborn as she was, desperately tried to get past him to kill one of the mermaids that had put her nails into a crewmember.

''GET HER AWAY!'', Jack yelled as loud as he could.

The mermaids were screaming, high-pitched, terrifying, monstrous screams. Pirates were desperately trying to keep them away, but it seemed impossible. For every mermaid they killed, two took its place.

Monsters, they were. Not mermaids. Flesh-tearing, devilish monsters from the deepest depths of hell.

Gibbs pushed Sophia into the dining room and shut the door. Jack was holding himself back from locking Angelica away there too, but he knew Angelica was fierce. She was stronger than anyone could expect when they saw her.

And indeed, Angelica stood at the edge of the ship, fighting off mermaids and killing them like she'd practised for it all her life. She pulled one of the monsters off Cotton, grabbed her by the hair and shot a bullet right through her head.

For a small second, Jack and Angelica looked straight into each others eyes. Neither of them seemed afraid. Angelica seemed like she enjoyed the whole thing, and Jack could imagine why. She'd been away for so long, she must have missed fighting.

Suddenly, above all other screams, Jack heard a very familiar one. It was a growl, filled with pain and anger, loud and long. Jack swirled around and saw one of the monsters digging its nails into Will's shoulders, pulling him over the railing.

Jack jumped, without thinking. He grabbed Will by his ankles and for a second, he looked straight into the creatures dead, pitch-black eyes.

Outraged, the monster bared her teeth, long and filthy, sharp as a night. It hissed and crawled over Will's back, towards Jack. Jack grabbed his gun, quickly put it to the monsters head and shot it, twice. It fell dead into the water.

Immediately, Jack pulled Will away from the railing and inspected his shoulder. The creatures' claws teared right through his coat and his flesh, blood was pouring from ten small places where its nails had been.

''I'm okay!'', Will said immediately.

Jack noticed he looked a little pale, but he knew Will would tell him if he really wasn't okay.

So he let him go, turned around, and shot a mermaid that came flying right towards him.

As all of the left over crewmembers fought on, using cannons, swords and guns, the amount of mermaids only seemed to get bigger. And Jack knew that was actually the case. These monsters were drawn to blood and screaming. Like sharks, but more scary.

They were losing men, rapidly. Gibbs was fighting off two mermaids at the same time. They kept on jumping, trying to dig their nails in him so they could pull him overboard.

Will, who was now wounded, could only fight with his left arm. He was weakened, and the monsters noticed. They started going after him with three, four, five at the time, but he kept them off.

Even Angelica, who was strong and fast like no other, was being pushed towards the edge. Mermaids were scratching her face, her arms, anywhere they could touch her. She was fighting, but she was struggling.

Jack saw the pirates around him, the people he cared about, being drawn towards the railing of the ship, being pulled overboard to disappear beneath the dark waves until only their blood came to the surface.

Fighting wasn't an option. Not anymore. They'd lost half of their men in less than fifteen minutes.

''PULL BACK!'', Jack roared as he jumped on top of the railing. The pirates around him were too busy fighting, nobody seemed to hear him.

''Mother of the Seven Seas'', Jack muttered under his breath. He grabbed his gun, aimed at a barrel filled with gunpowder, and fired.

The explosion was so loud, everyone stopped immediately. The mermaids shrieked loudly and immediately disappeared under the water. But Jack knew it wasn't for ever. They would return.

''LISTEN UP, SEADOGS'', Jack growled as he stepped on deck of the Black Pearl. ''Beneath deck, now! Collect all the men you have, all the weapons you can still use. They will be upon us again, within minutes''.

If they had to die, they would die like real pirates, taken by the waves, not by these horrible creatures. Not torn apart. Not like a bloody pulp. No.

Will, Angelica, Gibbs, and all others aboard the two ships looked at Jack in utter disbelief. Hide? Beneath the deck?

''But Jack, they'll sink the ship!'', Gibbs called out in horror.

Jack looked at him with a flash of pain in his eyes. ''Drowning, to me, seems like a much better way to die than be eaten alive, mate'', Jack answered softly.

For a few seconds, everyone was quiet, but soon enough, the screaming and shrieking started again. This time, louder than ever. Their screams were filled with rage. The mermaids had returned.

''NOW!'', Jack roared, and immediately, everyone pulled back. They grabbed their weapons, everything they could find, and disappeared beneath the deck.

The decks were abandoned. Empty. But the creatures knew exactly where the pirates were. They could smell their sweat, blood, their fear.

The shrieking sounded softer, but it was still there. The pirates had gathered in one small space, their weapons pressed against their chest.

''We're going to die'', Viggo cried out.

Jack turned his face to him. ''Hush'', he ordered.

It was no use. Along with Viggo, all other pirates were down on their luck. Everyone except Will, Sophia, Angelica, Jack, Gibbs and Bill Turner were praying. And Cotton, but only because he had no tongue to pray with.

The shrieking got louder. The ship started rocking, side to side, harder and harder. There was a loud banging at the right side of the ship, and with every bang, the mermaid's shrieking and the pirates' begging got louder.

The mermaids were trying to break through the ship. And if they would, they were going to be locked in a small room with seawater and mermaids pouring in.

They wouldn't drown fast enough. Before the water had closed in around their bodies, all of them would be torn apart.

They were going to be torn to shreds, eaten alive, and the Pearl and the Dutchman would sink to the bottom of the ocean.

Jack couldn't let that happen. He wouldn't. These people were his family, his friends, the only friends that he ever had. They weren't going to die. Not like this.

Suddenly, Jack remembered something. He remembered how the mermaids had pulled back when the barrel exploded.

These monsters were creatures of darkness, creatures of seawater. Fire was light, fire was the opposite of water.

They were afraid of water.

Jack snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the wooden planks of the wall break.

Immediately, he jumped to his feet and grabbed Gibbs' gun, along with Angelica's and Sophia's.

''Jack!'', Angelica called out. ''Where are you going?!''.

Jack turned around to face them and clenched his jaws together. ''Stay here. Whatever happens to me out there, stay'', he answered, walking up the steps.

Angelica and Sophia both jumped up immediately, but Jack stopped them. He looked at the side of the ship when he heard another board break.

''You'', he said, looking at the men collected in the small space. ''Put away your fear. If we must die, tonight, we will die fearless, aye?''.

For a second, the pirates glanced at each other, but then they nodded, clenched their jaws together, their fists around their weapons and jumped to their feet. ''AYE!'', they roared.

Jack smiled, nodded, and turned to his crew. ''Keep these two here'', he ordered.

Angelica and Sophia started protesting immediately when Will, Gibbs and others grabbed their wrists and pulled them away from the stairs.

Jack opened the door to the deck, turned around to his daughter and Angelica one last time and smiled softly. ''I love you'', he said.

Another board broke. The shrieking got louder. Mermaids were closing in.

Jack quickly made a salute, turned around, and ran onto the deck.

Immediately, he heard and saw mermaids turning around. They knew he was there. They were coming for him.

Good.

Dozens of mermaids were jumping over the railing, trying to pull him over with them. They were coming from both sides of the ship, screaming out in absolute outrage. Jack was being closed in by them.

He grabbed both of his guns, and as he run over the deck, towards the barrels of gunpowder on the end, he shot bullets to all sides. Quicker and quicker, bullets flew through the air. He was running out, but he needed to make it.

All around him, there was shrieking, screaming, the sounds of his guns being fired, over and over again. Behind him, he heard Angelica and Sophia yelling, screaming, but he knew they couldn't escape the arms of his crew.

The barrels of gunpowder were within reach, but his bullets had run out.

So Jack dropped his guns, and took a run for it. As fast as he could, he ran towards the barrels, escaping the claws of mermaids that jumped at him from all sides.

Suddenly, one of the mermaids threw herself in front of his feet. Jack's foot got stuck behind her back, he lost his balance. If he reached out, he could touch the barrels in front of him, but he fell down. With a loud smash, he fell onto the deck, and immediately, mermaids jumped on top of him.

They tore in his clothes, scratched his face, screaming, shrieking, clawing.

Jack desperately tried to fight them off. He felt no pain. Adrenaline rushed through his veins. He had to get to the barrels.

With a loud roar, he pushed the mermaids off him and jumped to his feet.

He felt blood pour from his wounds, but he felt no pain.

He grabbed the first barrel, punched one of the monsters in its face, threw the barrel overboard and grabbed his gun. As he aimed for the barrel, five mermaids put their nails in his flesh.

Jack screamed out in agony. The weight of the creatures forced him onto the deck, but he remained on his feet. He clenched his jaws together, ignored the tearing at his flesh as best as he could when suddenly, he heard Sophia behind him.

''DAD'', she screamed out in horror.

Jack froze. He saw Sophia run towards him, two guns in her hands, shooting at the mermaids that were tearing on her father. Two of the mermaids immediately disappeared into the water.

Sophia ran out of bullets. So she pulled two swords from her belt and furiously attacked the mermaids. ''GET BACK!'', Jack roared, pushing the third mermaid away from him.

''SOPHIA, GET BACK. NOW!'', he screamed.

Sophia ignored him like he was air. She stabbed the fourth mermaid through her stomach, twisted it around and threw her overboard. The shrieking got louder.

Jack felt the nails of the fifth mermaid pierce through his chest and he screamed out in agony as he fell onto the deck. Sophia pulled the mermaid off him, but as a response, the mermaid turned around and clawed at her face.

Blood welled up from the deep cut in Sophia's cheek. Another mermaid joined, throwing her to her feet and then disappearing into the water. Again, another mermaid took her place, cutting Sophia in her legs.

Jack roared angrily, pushed himself to his feet, grabbed his gun, aimed, and fired. The barrels he'd thrown overboard exploded, one by one. Fire started burning on the waves.

For a second, the shrieking got louder, but then, the mermaids pulled back. They were afraid of fire. As fast as they had appeared, they vanished.

Suddenly, the only sound was the roaring of the flames and Jack's loud breathing. No shrieking, no screaming.

Filled with rage, Jack turned around to face Sophia, who had jumped to her feet and pressed a hand against her bleeding wound.

''YOU COULD HAVE BEEN DEAD'', Jack roared at her.

Sophia opened her mouth, but suddenly, there was a loud shriek.

One single mermaid, just one, jumped out of the water, put her claws in Sophia's chest, and pulled her backwards.

Sophia screamed out in pain and Jack immediately grabbed his sword, but he was too late.

Sophia lost her balance.

''NO!'', Jack brawled.

The mermaid pulled her under, into the flames, into the water, further and further down.

Sophia opened her eyes and desperately fought, pulling on the creatures' wrist, but it didn't move. Its claws had dug into her chest. Blood was pouring from her wounds, her lungs were screaming for air, and within seconds, she was surrounded by five other mermaids.

They pulled her into the darkness, away from her parents, her friends, her safety, away from air. When Sophia looked up, she saw the flames and the Black Pearl disappear until she saw no light, and she felt no warmth.

After two minutes, she couldn't hold her breath anymore. She opened her mouth and gasped for air, but of course, there was no air. Water immediately filled her lungs. Her head was spinning, her lungs were burning, her wounds were bleeding out.

She couldn't do it anymore.

The last thing she saw before she lost consciousness, were the pitch-black eyes and the evil grin of the creature that dragged her down.


	25. Chapter 25 - Stranded

**Chapter 25.**

Through the air echoed a deafening, heartwrenching scream, accompanied by a roar, just as loud and heartbreaking.

Both Jack and Angelica ran towards the railing, punching, kicking and scratching at the pirates that dared to pull them back. Will tried his best to pull Jack away from the railing, but it seemed like he was taken over by someone else. He was stronger than ever.

''JACK!'', Will screamed as he grabbed Jack's face in his hands. He didn't listen. Instead, he pushed Will aside, punched Pintel until he let him go, and ran back towards the railing. Just as he put one leg over it, in a desperate attempt to dive after Sophia, Will grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him back so hard that Jack smashed onto the deck and he gasped for air.

Angelica was still fighting, but as soon as she saw Jack laying on the deck, staring at the sky, frozen, something inside of her snapped. She fell onto her knees, her fingers in her hair as tears started rolling down her cheeks. ''MY BABY'', she screamed as she crawled towards Jack and punched him on the chest.

Jack didn't move. He just layed there, staring at the clouds above him as Angelica kept pulling on him, crying and screaming.

''YOU SHOULD HAVE STOPPED HER'', Angelica screamed, and she hit Jack on his stomach. ''BASTARDO! YOU SHOULD'VE STOPPED HER, HOW COULD YOU?!''.

The crew, both Will's and Jack's, stood still on the deck, staring at Angelica in Jack in disbelief. No one could really wrap their heads around what just happened. Sophia was gone. The little girl they had seen grow up, here on the Black Pearl, that had turned into a fierce pirate, was gone.

She died because she tried to save her father.

Angelica's fury became more agressive and she started punching Jack, screaming and crying at him, until finally, Gibbs, Cotton and Viggo pulled her up and away, into Jack's chamber.

Still, Jack didn't move. Before his eyes, he saw flashes of Sophia's eyes, filled with shock as that monster dragged her overboard.

She had saved his life. Without Sophia, he'd be dead now. But in return for his life, she was now dead. There was nothing anyone could do to save her.

When he finally realised that, he felt a heavy, pressing feeling in his chest. His throat started burning and soon after, tears welled up in his dark eyes.

Will saw Jack breaking, so he sent his crew back to the Dutchman, and sent the others to their restchambers.

Soon, it was just Will and Jack on the deck of the Pearl. And suddenly, a soft, aching sound escaped Jack's throat, followed by crying. Though he tried his best to stay quiet, the sounds he made were filled with nothing but grief and agony.

Will immediately walked towards his friend, sat down next to him, and without saying another word, he pulled Jack against him and held him as tight as Jack's shaking body allowed him.

Angelica's daughter, Jack's daughter, a family member, friend, and little sister to everyone else on the ship, was dead. And gone forever.

Something hot shun down on her face. Underneath her body layed something soft, something familiar that she couldn't yet place. She felt a warm summer breeze play with her hair, and painful stings in the right side of her body.

Sophia tried to open her eyes, but it seemed as if her lids were glued together. Her body felt strangely heavy, numb, almost.

''Mom'', someone suddenly said.

Her heart skipped a beat when she realised she wasn't alone. Slowly, hoping no one around her would notice, she felt for her knife, but there was nothing. Her weapons were gone!

''I think she's waking up'', the voice continued.

Sophia heard footsteps approaching her, faster and faster.

Sophia couldn't remember a thing, but she knew very well that whoever she was with, they posed a threat. They'd taken her weapons. And taking a pirate's weapons could mean only two things. One; you're either really stupid or two; you want to kill that pirate later on.

As soon as the footsteps were close enough, Sophia opened her eyes and immediately sat upright. The first thing she saw was a thick, long branch, so she grabbed it and held it before her like a weapon.

The young man before her quickly raised his hands in the air and smiled softly. ''She's awake!'', he called out.

Sophia's eyes glanched from the boy in front of her to the blonde woman that came walking towards him.

She looked at Sophia and smiled a friendly, warm smile. ''There's no need to be afraid. We won't hurt you''.

Maybe it was because of the pain in her body, the exhaustion, maybe it was just because of the woman's friendly smile, but Sophia put down the branch next to her and looked at the people in front of her.

''You've slept for an entire week'', the woman said as she handed Sophia a flask of water. Greedily, Sophia put the flask to her lips and drank it empty within seconds. Her throat felt dry and raw, but the cool water helped her speak.

''What happened?'', she whispered.

The young man behind her, who was around her age, a little older, she suspected, went through his knees and handed Sophia a handful of grapes, which she happily took.

''We found you. A week ago, stranded on the beach. I brought you here and woke you up. You ate a little and then went back to sleep. Do you remember that?'', he asked.

Sophia shook her head.

''What is the last thing you remember?'', the woman asked. Sophia noticed both of them had foreign accents. She couldn't place where from, but they were there.

''Well'', she started softly as she chewed on a couple of grapes. Her head hurt, but when she thought back, all she could remember was an explosion, fire, and a strange-looking mermaid. ''An explosion'', she answered softly.

The young man and the woman exchanged a short look and nodded slowly.

Suddenly, Sophia remembered her parents. She remembered the crew, Will, everyone, stuck in a small room as mermaids tried to get in. Her heart skipped a beat and suddenly she felt like crying, but she refused to. Her parents probably thought she was dead. They hadn't searched for her.

Though Sophia was very thankful for the water and the grapes, she didn't know the people in front of her, and her father had always said not to trust strangers until they give you reason to, so when the woman asked Sophia her name, she answered; ''Anna''.

''Well, Anna, welcome to our humble home'', the boy smiled as he spread his arms.

Sophia looked around. She was laying in warm sand, the sun shun down on top of her, a few feet away was the ocean. Behind her were dense woods, filled with flowers, plants, and palmtrees. Hidden behind a couple of palmtrees was a small, handmade cottage.

''You are very welcome'', the woman added.


	26. Chapter 26- Reunion

**Chapter 26.**

That same night, Angelica and Jack lay restless next to each other in Jack's bed. Neither of them spoke. Their minds wandered to Sophia, and when they did, they stayed there.

Jack was being consumed by feelings of guilt. He couldn't help but blame himself for his daughter's death. After all, if he had stopped her, or killed the mermaids faster, or if he just hadn't fallen, she would still be alive right now, sleeping in her bed on the Black Pearl.

Deep down inside, he knew it was nobody's fault. It wasn't even Sophia's fault. But in times of desperation, in times of loss, people seek something or someone to blame. And for Jack, that someone was himself.

The worst thing was, though, that he thought Angelica blamed him too. She didn't look him in the eye anymore, she didn't speak to him directly and even right now, as they layed next to each other, she refused to touch him. She had turned her face away from him and pulled back her hands every time Jack tried to hold them between his.

Jack knew she was still awake. He heard her irregular breathing.

''Angelica?'', he whispered softly.

There was no answer.

Jack hesitated a few seconds before he whispered her name, but again, there was no response from the other side of the bed.

''Angelica, please, talk to me'', Jack whispered as he rolled onto his side.

She turned her body away from him, Jack looked straight at her back.

With his eyes, he traced the motive in her linnen blouse, but after a while, he ran out of patience. He couldn't stand the silence, the rejection. He wanted to hold her, console her because he knew she wanted and needed that. And he did too.

Jack grabbed her shoulder and turned her around, onto her back. Angelica's head immediately turned towards him. She shook his hand off her and sat upright in the bed.

''Don't touch me'', she hissed. Whenever she got upset, her Spanish accent came through more than normally. It was her tell, so Jack knew she was getting emotional.

''Why not, Angelica? Tell me why I cannot touch you, why you won't let me console you or kiss you. Tell me what's going on in that head of yours, please'', Jack answered softly as he changed into an upwards position.

Angelica clenched her jaws together. ''I have nothing to say to you''. She layed down again and turned away from the confused man sitting next to her.

But very quickly, that confusion turned into frustration. Jack knew something was bothering her. And he knew that she secretly blamed him for the death of their daughter, but he wanted her to say it. He wanted to hear it from her mouth. He needed that confirmation, though he very much feared it as well.

''Now ye stop it, dammit!'', Jack called out, and again, he turned Angelica onto her back, who immediately sat upright again.

''With what, Jack?!'', she answered angrily.

''Do you blame me, Angelica? Do you blame me for what happened?'', Jack asked.

Angelica didn't answer. She just stared at Jack, her lips pressed tightly together. Suddenly, she raised from the bed and grabbed her pillow.

''I'll sleep below deck'', she hissed.

As she turned around and walked towards the door, Jack jumped to his feet, quickly walked towards her, grabbed her wrist, and pushed her against the wall.

''Tell me. Talk to me'', Jack hissed.

''Get away!'', Angelica yelled as she angrily tried to push him off.

Jack didn't give in. He kept her exactly where she was as he pinned her hands against the wooden wall.

''Tell me'', Jack growled. ''TELL ME!''.

''WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY, JACK?'', Angelica immediately screamed at him.

With a loud bang, Jack punched the wall right next to her head. Angelica flinched, but the anger in her eyes didn't dissapear.

''TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK. SPEAK TO ME''.

'"FINE'', Angelica screamed. She roughly pushed Jack away from her.

''IT'S YOUR FAULT. MY DAUGHTER. MY GIRL. SHE IS DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU''.

Angelica walked towards him and slapped him on his chest, again and again as she screamed at him. ''YOU!''.

She started pushing him, against his desk, then against the bookshelf, towards the corner of the room.

''YOU MIGHT AS WELL HAVE KILLED HER YOURSELF''.

Jack froze. He suddenly didn't feel her hands coming down onto his body, he didn't feel her pushing him against the wall, over and over again. He could only hear her words echo through his head. _You might as well have killed her yourself_.

''HER BLOOD IS ON YOUR HANDS''.

Jack felt his heartbeat quicken. A vein in his foreheads started to throb.

Yes, he wanted her to tell him the truth. But the fact that she accused him of murdering their daughter, HIS daughter, his baby girl that he loved more than anything in the world, it made him furious. More than furious. Jack felt infuriated.

''YOU KILLED SOPHIA!'', Angelica screamed. ''MURDERER!''.

Suddenly, Jack woke up. He unfroze. He felt Angelica's hands beat down on his chest. But her words hit him harder and immediately, all of his anger, his sadness, his grief, he let it all out. He snapped.

With a furious growl, Jack swung around, clenched a fist and punched Angelica straight in the face.

She fell down onto the floor and immediately put her hand on her nose. Her big, dark eyes, filled with shock and disbelief slowly looked up at Jack.

Blood dripped from her nose, over her lips, onto her white blouse.

''Oh.. no'', Jack nudged out.

After a few seconds, Angelica slowly rose from the floor. She had her fingers pressed to her nose, completely silent. No tears, no yelling, no aggression.

''Angelica, please just-'', Jack started, but she raised her hand as a sign to stop talking, and Jack shut up.

''I- I'm just..'', she started softly. ''I have to go''.

Without saying another word, she turned around, grabbed her boots and walked out of the room. Jack did nothing to stop her.

He knew what he'd done. He knew he was very, very wrong. And as soon as his fist hit her face, his anger had dissapeared. Right now, all he felt was grief. His daughter was dead and he'd punched the woman he loved.

He'd lost the two people he cared most about within ten hours.

 **TTTTTTTTTTTTTT**

Sophia felt two strong hands gently shake on her shoulder. A voice, first soft and in the distance, became louder and louder until finally, she understood what it was saying.

She recognized the voice. It belonged to the young boy on this island. Sophia just didn't recognize the name he was calling her. He was calling for 'Anna'. She wasn't Anna. After a few seconds, she finally realised he really did mean her. She'd told him her name was Anna.

So Sophia slowly opened her eyes and rolled onto her back, looking straight into a smiling face.

''Well, look who's awake'', the boy mumbled with a smile.

The sky was dark but clear, filled with bright stars. Sophia could hear the waves roll ashore quietly and calmly. The soft summer breeze was warm, palm trees rustled in the wind.

''Hello'', Sophia answered softly. Her throat felt raw.

''You fell asleep again'', he explained. ''I thought you'd might like something to eat. My mom and I made dinner''.

Sophia nodded slowly. ''And something to drink, please'', she added.

The young man laughed. ''Come on, I'll help you up''.

He carefully placed his hands around Sophia's wrists and pulled her up from the warm sand. She'd layed there for hours, in the sand, covered in nothing but a white blouse and a blanket. He or his mom must've put that on her.

Sophia felt as if she hadn't walked for years. It felt weird to stand up. The wound in her side burned and her legs felt like jelly.

Luckily, the boy had wrapped his arm around her waist and supported her that way. They walked through the warm sand, both with bare feet until finally, their surroundings changed. Sophia felt grass under her feet and plants replaced the beach.

Just a few feet away from the beach was a small cabin made of bamboo and palms. Sophia'd seen it before, but only by day. This was.. well, simply beautiful.

All around the cabin, in the trees surrounding it, hung small lights. In front of the cabin stood a little table with two chairs and Sophia smelled a mouth-watering smell coming from the window.

''This is beautiful'', she exclaimed with big eyes.

''Thank you'', the boy answered. ''I built it myself, everything is homemade''.

Sophia recognized something about him. Something about the cabin, the island, the woman. Something was very, very familiar, but she didn't know what.

Before she had the chance to ask, the blonde woman came walking out the cabin with a giant, wooden bowl of food in her hands.

''Time for dinner!'', she smiled as she put the bowl on the table. ''Will you help me with the meat, please?''.

Her son nodded and quickly dissapeared into the cabin.

''Oh and bring another chair!'', she called after him.

''Sit down, dear, you must be hungry'', she then said to Sophia. Sophia smiled and slowly sat down in one of the chairs. ''It's not much, I know, but we've got to make due with what we have. It's potatoes and carrots, mashed together''.

''And swine!'', the boy added as he put a plate of meat on the table. His mother laughed, poured three cups of water and sat down.

''Dig in!'', he said.

As soon as their plates were filled, Sophia started eating. She felt like she hadn't eaten in weeks. When her plate was empty, she immediately filled it again, and ate that too.

Neither the boy or his mother said anything about it.

When Sophia finally stopped eating, she drank two cups of water, and then looked at the two people sitting around the table with her.

''Thank you'', she said. ''It tasted great''.

The woman laughed. ''Well.. I try'', she answered.

Again, Sophia noticed the strange accents. British. She knew because Will was British too, and he spoke in exactly the same way.

''So, Anna, what happened to you?'', the boy suddenly asked.

Sophia looked at him and sighed. ''It's a long story'', she confessed softly.

Both people smiled widely. ''We have all the time in the world'', he said.

So, impowered by those words, Sophia told them everything. She told them about the two ships that were under attack of mermaids at Devil's Cave. She told them about the monsters, what they looked like, how they sounded. She told them about all the men that they lost and finally, she told them how one single mermaid dragged her overboard, away from her parents and her friends.

''After that.. I can't remember'', she said.

The woman and her son looked at her in utter disbelief. Explosions, a sacrifice, monsters, it almost seemed like some old fairytale.

''Well.. it explains the wounds in your side'', the boy said, and Sophia laughed softly.

''So you're a pirate then'', the woman said, and Sophia confirmed. ''With what ships did you sail?''.

Sophia laughed. ''They're strange ships''.

''Well.. I've had my time of being at sea'', she answered.

Sophia looked at the woman, curious about what that meant. Had she been a pirate, too? Maybe she'd travelled.

''We sailed with the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman'', Sophia finally answered.

As soon as she said that, both faces in front of her drained. They turned pale as a sheet. The woman brought her hands to her mouth and looked at Sophia in shock.

''Did you sail with Will Turner?'', the woman asked. When Sophia looked up at her, she saw tears shimmering in her brown eyes, and suddenly, she realised who the two people in front of her where.

The woman was Will's wife, Elizabeth Swann, a former pirate that had been left on this island when her husband became captain of the Flying Dutchman. The boy was nineteen year old Caleb Turner.

''Oh my God, you are his family!'', Sophia called out.

Caleb seemed confused, but Elizabeth understood everything. She understood that Sophia had sailed with her husband, that she knew who they were and that Will had talked to her about them.

''Yes! Yes, I'm his wife!'', Elizabeth said as she put her hands over her mouth. ''Do you know him? How is he?''.

''He's doing great, he's planning to come here in less than a week'', Sophia answered with a wide smile.

''Oh my God'', Elizabeth stammered.

''WOAH! What is going on here, who are you? Why do you know my father?'', Caleb suddenly asked.

Sophia laughed in pure joy. These people were Will's family, which meant that she could trust them. Which also meant that Will would be here soon, and he could bring her back to her parents!

''My dad's ship sailed with your father's ship for a very long time. They're great friends. Will is like family to me'', Sophia explained.

''Who is your father?'', Elizabeth called out immediately.

''Captain Jack Sparrow'', Sophia answered proudly.

''Jack has a daughter?!''.

Sophia couldn't help but laugh because of the disbelief in Elizabeth's eyes. ''Yes. Angelica's my mother. And Will.. Will is amazing. He's told me all about you''.

''Well, you know who we are, then!'', Caleb laughed. ''Any friend of my father is welcome here''.

Elizabeth still stood watching in disbelief. She couldn't wrap her head around the fact that Jack and Angelica had a daughter.

''How old are you?'', Elizabeth asked after a while.

''Seventeen, almost eighteen. And my name is Sophia Sparrow''.


	27. Chapter 27- Burning Bridges

**Chapter 27.**

 **(So sorry for not updating in a while, I've had a crazy two weeks. Expect more updates soon! Sophia's life is going to take an interesting turn! x)**

And so, an entire week passed. Within seven days, Elizabeth, Caleb and Sophia had gotten to know each other better than anybody could think possible in a week. Sophia had listened to Elizabeth's stories about her, Will and Jack breathlessly.

She loved hearing about her father and Will's friendship, and it became very clear to her that it was one for a lifetime.

Caleb had obviously already heard all of the stories Elizabeth told them, but he never interrupted, not once.

In return, Sophia told Elizabeth and Caleb everything she could possibly remember about her own life. How Nathaniel George kidnapped her away from Jack and pretended to be her father, that she didn't meet her real father until she was seventeen. She told them about her transformation from a classy townsgirl to a fierce pirate. She told them about her mother, killing Nathaniel and Blackbeard, and bringing Angelica back to life.

Finally, she told them everything about her own experiences with Will, the Flying Dutchman, the Black Pearl, and both of its crews.

''So your parents believe you're dead'', Caleb said in his warm British accent as he and Sophia walked through the dense woods of the island.

Sophia and he had been talking about how Sophia stranded on this island.

She simply nodded and pushed aside a branch.

It was a hot day, around one o'clock, Caleb thought. Elizabeth was back at the cabin. She'd given Sophia and her son the burden of bringing back food to eat that evening.

Sophia'd learned all about Caleb, and they had become close friends.

Caleb was a very mysterious nineteen year old. He'd turn twenty on May 13th, which was less than a week away from now. He and his mother shared a great love for the ocean and all of it's secrets. He liked Greek mythology and his favorite color was black. His favorite day of the week was thursday and his absolute dream was to travel the world.

And all of those things added up to the simple fact that Sophia took a liking to him.

''Yes'', she finally answered as they walked uphill.

''You know-'', Caleb started softly. ''My dad will return to the island in 5 days.. If he sees that you're alive, I'm sure he'll bring you back to your parents''.

He looked at Sophia and smiled a soft smile. ''Don't worry'', he said with a wink.

Sophia knew he was right. As soon as Will would be here, he'd be shocked.. of course, but then he'd take her back to her parents and everything would be right.

The only thing she questioned was whether or not she actually wanted to go back.

She'd been on the Pearl for almost two years now, and though she loved the ship and all of the people on it, Sophia was a very curious girl, and more than anything, she wanted to take on the world.

She felt like she had to choose between her parents and her freedom, which was an impossible choice to make, for her.

''I know'', Sophia said, quickly smiling.

Caleb didn't hear her anymore. His white blouse was drenched in his sweat and stuck to his tanned skin. He stood still, his hands on his side, his face turned upwards to the top of a palmtree.

''What is it?'', Sophia asked as she walked towards him.

''Coconuts''.

Sophia couldn't help but chuckle. Caleb had a focused expression on his face, a wrinkle appeared between his brows, his jawline tightened as he stared at a few coconuts.

''Want to get 'em down?'', Sophia asked, and Caleb nodded immediately.

''Well, I don't think they'll fall because your face scares them. So go get 'em'', Sophia laughed.

Caleb didn't answer. With the same focused expression on his face, he rolled up his sleeves, wrapped his arms around the tree, and started climbing.

''You're going to climb, really?'', Sophia laughed.

To her surprise, however, Caleb quickly dissapeared high up in the tree, until all she could see of him were the bottoms of his boots.

''How do you think I get them down normally?'', Caleb called out from above her.

Probably the exact same way, Sophia answered in her head.

''Move!'', he yelled, and within seconds, coconuts started falling down the tree. Sophia quickly stepped aside and laughed as Caleb moved down the tree. He reminded her somewhat of a monkey.

''Well done'', she admitted, and Caleb winked again.

Sophia only now noticed his arms. They were incredibly muscular and tanned. Of course he had strong arms, he used them every day. Intense labor was what he did, but he didn't seem to mind.

''Do you never get tired of this island?'', Sophia asked as they collected the coconuts in a linen bag.

Caleb looked at her in surprise and slowly shook his head. ''Never, why would I?'', he smiled.

''Well'', she answered slowly. ''For a young man with dreams of travelling the world, this island is an awful small piece of it''.

Caleb laughed softly and nodded. ''I do want to travel the world'', he answered. ''But I couldn't bare to leave my mother here''.

Sophia understood. Her parents still had each other now that she wasn't around, but Caleb was all that Elizabeth had. Without him, she would be totally alone, waiting for her husband to arrive, once in every ten years.

Without getting into the subject any further, both of them stood up and walked on. It was a tough walk, long, through dense, humid woods. Their shirts stuck to their backs and droplets of sweat shimmered on their foreheads.

To make things even worse, they were walking uphill. A steep, long, heavy walk, with a bag of coconuts on their shoulders.

Caleb seemed to have no trouble doing all of this, but for Sophia, it was new. She'd never been on a deserted island before, so yes, it was quite tough on her.

With their linen bags on their shoulders, the pair set food on a narrow, wooden bridge that hung above 100 feet of thin air, with at its bottom, nothing more but cold stones on which bones shattered like glass.

Within seconds, Caleb and Sophia were busy discussing different things. They were talking about themselves, their dreams, about their fathers, and they were so caught up in the moment that neither of them saw the sudden drop right in front of them.

When Caleb saw it coming, it was too late already.

''WAIT'', he yelled, but his next words were lost in the air, dimmed by a terrified scream. Sophia, who had just been walking next to him, suddenly dropped down.

Halfway the bridge on which they were walking were a few planks missing, and Sophia had slipped right through them.

Immediately, Caleb dropped to his knees and looked down, his heart racing in his chest.

But Sophia had grabbed ahold of one of the loose ropes on the bridge.

And so she hang there, her hands tightly wrapped around a rope with underneath her feet of nothingness.

Caleb cursed loudly and rolled up his sleeves. Sweat dripped down his forehead as he anxiously looked around him.

''CALEB'', Sophia screamed at him. ''DO SOMETHING!''.

Though she was extremely tough, her hands were burning and slipping from the rope, and she wasn't prepared to fall to her death.

''DROP THE BAG'', Caleb yelled at her.

Sophia looked at him with big eyes, but then quickly dropped the bag.

It took at least ten seconds for them to hear the coconuts shatter on the bottom of the cliff.

''O my God'', Sophia whispered to herself as she dug her fingers in the rope.

Meanwhile, Caleb had lowered himself on the bridge. With one arm, he held on to the wooden planks.

''WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!'', Sophia screamed out in terror. ''YOU'RE CRAZY''.

Caleb groaned under his breath and slowly reached out his hand. ''GRAB IT'', he said.

Suddenly, there was a loud rumbling noise.

There was too much weight hanging on the bridge, and as a result, the ropes on the sides were snapping, one by one.

Immediately, Sophia tried to pull herself up, and though she managed to do so, it wasn't nearly far enough to get ahold of Caleb's hand.

And even if she did, would he be able to carry the weight? Could he carry her and himself with just one arm holding on to the bridge? What if they both fell? She didn't want him to die.

Still, she tried again. Swinging the rope towards him, she tried to grab his hand until finally, she could reach his fingertips.

But at the same moment, another rope snapped, causing Sophia to drop down again. She screamed loudly and hang still in mid-air, her hands wrapped around the rope so tightly that they turned white.

''God dammit!'', Caleb cursed loudly.

He couldn't do it, he realised. There was too much space between them, there was no way for Sophia to reach him.

So, with a quick, sudden movement, he pulled himself onto the bridge and ran, as quick as he could, back to the beginning.

''CALEB'', Sophia screamed.

Was he leaving her? Running away?! Seriously?!

She screamed out in anger and terror as Caleb ran onto land.

My God, Sophia thought. He's leaving me.

Just as she was about to curse him out for the most horrible things one could imagine, the most horrible pirate curses,he spun around, grabbed his pocket knife and started cutting through the ropes.

''WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!'', Sophia screamed as she desperately tried to get up on the bridge.

''TRUST ME'', Caleb's strong voice responded.

He was cutting through the ropes, the ropes that were keeping her from falling to her death, and she was supposed to trust him?

''ON THREE, I NEED YOU TO GRAB MY ARM, AND NOT LET GO'', Caleb yelled.

Sophia had no time to ask questions, because another rope snapped, and she dropped another feet.

''CALEB'', she screamed in a begging tone.

The palms of her hands were completely destroyed. The skin was torn of by the rough texture of the rope, and Sophia was in a lot of pain, but not planning to let go.

''Trust me'', Caleb said, breathing loudly. He looked straight into her eyes and nodded slowly. ''Trust me, Sophia''.

With those words, he cut through the last rope.

It snapped, and the entire bridge came crashing down. As she dropped, Sophia shut her eyes and screamed loudly.

''ONE'', Caleb called.

But suddenly, there was a change of direction.

''TWO''.

Instead of going down completely, only one of the sides was crashing down, causing the bridge to crash into the rocks loudly.

''THREE''.

So Sophia opened her eyes, and without thinking about it, she let go of the rope.

Caleb layed on his stomach, his arms reaching over the edge of the cliff, reaching out to Sophia.

There fingertips touched, but slipped.

Sophia looked straight into Caleb's eyes as she fell, and just as she thought she was going to die, Caleb reached down further, grabbed her wrists with one of his hands, and stopped it. Sophia's life depended on nothing more than the strength of Caleb's arm. With his other arm, he was holding on to the side of the bridge that was still hanging.

''Don't let go, please, Caleb'', Sophia begged as she looked down.

It was so far, the bottom of the cliff was invisible to see.

Caleb groaned loudly, his jaws clenched together, the veins in his arms clearly visible as he pulled Sophia up.

Just as the other side of the bridge snapped too, Caleb grabbed ahold of her with both of his hands, groaned loudly, and swung her over the edge.

Sophia fell flet on her stomach, right on top of Caleb, on the edge of a seemingly bottomless cliff.

Both of them breathed loudly, adrenaline rushing through their veins and their eyes opened widely as they came to realise both of them were still alive.

And immediately, both of them burst out in hysterical laughter. Caleb wrapped his arms around Sophia's shoulders and pulled her tightly against her chest.

''You can never make fun of my arms again!'', Caleb laughed loudly.

And Sophia shook her head as she laughed and put her hands on Caleb's cheeks.

''I won't'', she promised softly.

When their hysterical outburst came to a halt, both of them realised their position.

Caleb layed on his back, Sophia on top of him, his hands wrapped around her, her hands on his cheeks and the tips of their noses touching.

Sophia was the first to respond.

Quickly, she pulled away from his arms and sat upright in the grass next to him.

Caleb hesitated for a small second, but then swiftly did the same.

As they stared into the depths beneath them, their shyness took control of them.

''Maybe we should get back'', Caleb started softly.

Sophia nodded and jumped to her feet. ''Yeah, of course. We'll find new coconuts'', she answered quickly.

Caleb responded by standing up and smiling.

With the appearence of that warm, kind smile, the awkwardness dissapeared, and they acted like nothing happened. Caleb laughed once again, shrugged his shoulders and looked at Sophia.

''Bet you haven't experienced this before on a ship, have you?''.

Sophia laughed and shook her head, walking along with him, back through the dense, humid forests that they had passed through before she almost fell to her death.

Caleb Turner saved her life, she realised.

And she realised something else.

A strange feeling that she had never felt before.


	28. Chapter 28- The Green Flash

**Chapter 28.**

May 12th, the evening before Caleb Turner's 20th birthday. Elizabeth, Sophia and Caleb sat at the wooden table in front of the cabin, enjoying a warm meal. Though normally, there was nothing special about the 12th of May, today was an exception.

Will would visit again, after ten years of being away, and so, Caleb and Elizabeth were extraordinarily tense.

Sophia knew they'd been waiting for ten years, so they decided that when the moment arrived, she'd stay in the background for as long as she could. She'd give Caleb, Elizabeth and Will their day.

''What do you normally do on your birthday?'', Sophia asked in an attempt to start a conversation. She couldn't stand the silence anymore.

With a mouth full of fish, Caleb answered: ''Nothing, really''.

Sophia frowned, and Elizabeth chuckled softly.

''There's not much to do on this island. When Will comes around, every ten years, he brings gifts and food and drinks, everything for a good evening. The years that he isn't here, we spend the day like any other'', she explained.

Sophia couldn't understand. On her birthday, every year, Gibbs made her banana pancakes. The crew decorated the ship for her with flowers and palm leaves and they'd give her small, meaningful gifts.

As Sophia remembered her last birthday, a sting quickly pulled through her heart.

She missed them. A lot. She missed her father and his wittyness, her loving mother. She missed her friends, her family. Her crew were both of those things. She'd been on the island for almost two weeks now. Her parents still thought she was dead. So did the crew. They were the people Sophia cared most about, and she couldn't reach them to say she was okay.

''Listen.. tonight- I'll stay out of your way. And tomorrow too. It's the only day in ten years that you get to see your father, and your husband, and I wouldn't want to take that away from you. I'll enjoy myself'', Sophia said.

Immediately, Caleb looked up with a frown and shook his head.

''No. I want you to be there''.

Sophia raised her eyebrows.

''You're my friend now, Sparrow. You'll stay'', he said, and Elizabeth immediately nodded too.

''We love to have you here'', she promised with her kindest smile.

Sophia found it hard to believe that this woman, who now had a kid, who cooked and lived in a wooden cabin, had once been some sort of royalty, had once been a fierce pirate, a pirate lord, even. Elizabeth was one of the kindest souls she'd ever met.

And so, when the sun went down, Elizabeth and her son went off to the beach to welcome Will back.

Though they assured her they didn't mind her coming along, Sophia insisted on staying at the cabin until they'd come back. She wouldn't ever want to spoil their moment. They'd waited for a reunion for ten years. Sophia didn't mind waiting ten minutes.

As Sophia cleaned up the cabin and chewed on a leaf of mint, Elizabeth and Caleb dragged their feet through the warm sand.

''You look nervous'', Elizabeth whispered, and Caleb smiled.

''A little. I mean.. It's been ten years, mom. I've grown, so has he''.

Elizabeth came to a halt and softly took her sons hands in hers.

Caleb was taller than her, his hair was dark like his father's, and his eyes were bright blue like the eyes of his grandfather.

''You have nothing to be nervous for. Your father loves you, and he's proud of you, no matter who you are or what you do''.

Caleb smiled softly and kissed his mother on her cheek. They both turned towards the ocean and stared at the orange coloured sky. The sun was setting and dissapearing beneath the ocean fast, but to the two people waiting on the beach, it seemed like hours.

The tones of orange slowly turned into tones of red and pink, and all that was left of the sun had the colour of blood as it vanished.

Elizabeth held Caleb's hand in hers, and she didn't even notice how hard she was squeezing it. Caleb didn't mind, however, he knew that his mother waited for this for ten years. She didn't see him often enough. It was logical for her to be nervous, now.

Though, he had to admit, he was nervous too. Very much.

The sun went down quicker and quicker until finally, the last bit of blood red dissapeared beneath the dark waves.

Suddenly, it felt as if the ground shook. There was a sound as if someone threw a stone into the sea, but ten times as loud. The sound was immediately followed by a bright green flash, a sigh of wind that made the top of the palmtrees shake, and then.. a big ship that appeared on the horizon.

Elizabeth gasped loudly and put her hands to her mouth. A big smile appeared around Caleb's lips.

And they watched the Flying Dutchman sail closer until one single longboat appeared on the sea. It felt like hours, but halfway, Will grabbed a linen sack, hang it around his shoulders and jumped overboard.

As quick as he could, he waded through the water. Elizabeth and Caleb didn't hesitate one moment. Both of them ran, as quick as they could, into Will's open arms. They nearly fell into the water, but no one cared. There were hugs, kisses, lovely words all over the place and they refused to let each other go for a few minutes.

Until finally, Will released his son with one arm and took a look at how he turned out. ''You've grown'', Will simply laughed, and Caleb laughed too.

''I missed you, dad'', he then said, and immediately, Will pulled him close again, planting a kiss in his son's dark hair.

''We have until this time tomorrow. And tomorrow's your birthday. Let's make it a good one'', Will said with a smile.

Caleb and Elizabeth nodded, Will handed Caleb the linen sack and planted a long, passionate kiss on Elizabeth's lips.

''My God, I've missed you guys'', Will said with a wide grin.

They returned to the cabin, laughing, talking, cheering, without worries or shame. For a few short hours, nothing in the world could touch them. They were happy. Reunited. Once in every ten years, they had the possibility of being a normal family.

Sophia heard them coming from afar, and suddenly, she felt anxious.

Maybe she should run, hide until Will dissapeared.

It wasn't only because she was afraid she might disturb the family's reunion. She also knew that if Will saw her, he'd take her back to the Pearl immediately. And after being here, with new, different people on a deserted island, Sophia wasn't sure if she wanted to go back. She wanted to discover, explore.

Before she had the chance to think about what she might do, the three appeared from the dense palmwoods.

Will didn't see her at first, but as soon as he layed eyes on Sophia, who nervously waited in front of the cabin, his mouth dropped to the ground.

For a few seconds, neither of them knew what to say.

''Sophia..'', Will started, a frown appeared between his dark brows. ''You're alive!'', he suddenly called out, quickly walking towards her.

Before she could say anything, Will pulled her into his arms for a short, tight hug.

''How can you- where did- what.. - no- how?!'', Will stuttered.

Sophia laughed softly and looked at Caleb and Elizabeth.

''They found me. Here on this beach. Apparently the mermaid didn't like me so much. They've taken very good care of me''.

''Do you know this is Jack's kid?'', Will laughed as he turned around to face his wife.

Elizabeth nodded and smiled softly as she took Will's hand.

''Yes. She's told me everything. Every single thing that's happened'', she answered laughing.

''Jack and Angelica think you're dead. You need to go back. You need to let them know that you're safe, Sophia. They're not the same without you'', Will said, serious all of a sudden.

Sophia knew he was right. She couldn't stay. She couldn't go about travelling the seven seas if her parents didn't know she was alive.

''I'll take you with me tomorrow night'', Will said, and Sophia simply nodded.

When she saw the expression on Caleb's face, she quickly changed subject.

''But tomorrow's your son's twentieth birthday. We have to celebrate that first'', she said, and immediately, Will nodded.

''Right. First things first. Your twentieth, son!'', he called out as he playfully hit Caleb on his back.

Caleb laughed, and all of them burst out in laughter when Will pulled three bottles of rum out of the linen sack, followed by a dark-wooden guitar and an endless amount of treats.

''Let's get this party started!'', Will yelled, and with a wide smile, he pulled Caleb along towards the beach.


	29. Chapter 29- Lovebirds

**Chapter 29.**

 **(yes, two chapters. Because I can. Because I felt like it. Enjoy! :D)**

That night, all four of them spend their time on the beach. As the sky turned dark and the stars and moon appeared, they drank rum, they ate and they played in the waves like a bunch of children. Will brought Caleb a guitar and a pair of new boots for his birthday. He brought Elizabeth a new set of clothing and new books to read.

The night was warm, clear and calm. They had no worries or cares in the world. Even Sophia, who worried that she might intrude the family, felt like she was a part of it. She felt welcome, loved.

When Caleb threw sand at her, she threw even more back at him. When Will tried to drag her into the ocean, Elizabeth would desperately try to pull her back.

Maybe the rum had a share in their child-like behaviour, but nobody really cared. They celebrated Caleb's birthday, as well as their reunion, as well as Sophia being alive, and for a while, nothing else mattered.

After three hours of dancing, playing, laughing and drinking, Caleb stood up from the warm sand. Will and he had gotten a fire going. Elizabeth and Will sat around it, tightly against eachother, their fingers entwined.

Caleb walked around the fire and reached out his hand to Sophia, who slowly looked up and raised her eyebrows.

''Take a walk with me'', he said with a soft smile.

The fire gave his blue eyes a beautiful glow, and for a few seconds, Sophia felt mesmerized by it.

Quickly, she snapped out of it and took Caleb's hand. He pulled her to her feet effortlessly and started walking.

''Where are we going?'', Sophia asked, curious as she was.

Caleb only smiled and winked at her. ''Those who ask get nothing, little pirate''.

Sophia laughed.

The two walked until Will and Elizabeth were far out of sight, until their speech was slurred by the rum and their walking just as wobbly. Though Sophia had no idea why, Caleb held her hand the entire time as he guided her through the dark. It felt as if they were walking uphill, and for a small second, Sophia doubted her safety, but she also knew that as long as Caleb was around and sober enough to walk, she'd have nothing to worry about.

''Come on!'', Sophia exclaimed with a sigh. ''We've been walking for fifteen minutes, where are we going?''.

Caleb laughed, and at that same moment, he stopped walking.

When Sophia stepped to his side, her mouth fell open and she softly gasped.

They were standing on top of a cliff and they were able to see out over the ocean without anything hiding it's beauty. The stars and the moon reflected on the water, making it seem like liquid silver. It shimmered. The most beautiful thing of all though, were the lights far, far away on the ocean.

''Are those ships?'', Sophia asked with big eyes.

Caleb smiled softly and nodded. ''Even though this is an deserted island and nobody knows we're here, it's a popular route for trading. Ships pass by all the time''.

Sophia started counting and she stopped at nine. Nine ships. All of those ships had multiple lights on board, and all of those lights were reflected ten times by the water. It seemed as if there were a hundred lights dancing on silver waves.

''This is beautiful'', she whispered as she gazed at the ships.

''This is where I come when I'm tired of the other side. Sometimes it gets boring, you know. This, however. This never gets dull''.

Sophia chuckled, but suddenly, she realised something. The ships, all of those ships far, far away on the sea, could one of them be the Black Pearl? Could it be? Maybe her parents, her friends, were right there. She could see them, but they'd never see her.

Though she didn't want to bring up the subject, not tonight, Caleb immediately noticed Sophia's expression.

''Hey'', he whispered softly. He took her hand in his again and slowly turned her body towards him. ''What's wrong?'', he asked.

She smiled a sad smile and shrugged. ''Not tonight, Caleb. It's not that important''.

''Come on. I can tell by your eyes that something's bothering you''.

''It's your birthday!'', Sophia protested.

''And it will be again next year. Make this one interesting for me, one to remember. Besided, I'm not that drunk. Yet''.

Sophia couldn't help but laugh and when she looked at Caleb and saw the worried expression in his eyes, she gave in.

Slowly, she sat down in the grass, her legs dangling over the edge of the cliff as she looked at the ships slowly sailing by.

''I can't help but wonder if maybe.. just maybe, my parents are on one of those ships sailing by'', she whispered.

Caleb sat down next to her and followed her gaze across the ocean, then turning back to the girl next to him. He'd found her big, dark eyes beautiful from the moment they opened on the beach where she stranded, but now that the moonlight had caught it's gaze, they seemed even more beautiful.

''Do you miss them?''.

Sophia nodded slowly. ''Very much'', she admitted.

''Do you miss the sea, the crew?'', Caleb continued, and again, Sophia nodded.

''The sea is, in a way, my home. I've always felt drawn to it. The Black Pearl is my home, and all of the people on it, they're my friends, my family. The only family I've got, the only family I've ever known. I miss them when I'm not with them''.

Though she spoke, Caleb felt something was still not right. He was never the type of guy who would try to put the words in someone's mouth. He was the type that would continue asking untilhe felt there was nothing more to be asked about.

''But?'', he questioned.

Sophia looked across at him and smiled softly. Caleb noticed how her pillowy lips curled upwards.

''I want to see the world, Caleb. I want to discover, I want adventure and danger. I want all of it. I want to know about other cultures. If I go back to the Pearl, if I stay there, I will never have those things'', she whispered, and the sad look in her eyes returned.

Caleb moved his body towards her and softly took her hands in his.

''But who says you've got to stay?''.

''I couldn't bare to leave my parents, Caleb. I think I might break their hearts. And who will I be on my own? How can I take on the world when I have no ship, no money, no destination?''.

''Your parents have each other, Sophia. You're a pirate. Don't pirates need to be free, adventurous. Don't they go their own way?''.

Sophia looked at him and nodded slowly. Yes. They should, of course.

''Would you leave your mother?'', she suddenly asked.

Caleb was caught of guard by the question, but he never backed down from answering those kind of questions.

''If I could travel, see the world, and be completely free?'', he asked.

Sophia confirmed.

''Yes. I would'', he answered after a while.

''Because I know my mother. She's been my age. More than anyone in this world, she'd understand my desire to be free. When she was my age, she felt like a caged animal too. I think she'd love me even more if I decided to go my own way''.

As Sophia listened to him, she saw his eyes light up. He was dreaming of the world, too. She could see it in his eyes, in the way he spoke of his mother, in the way he smiled in between his words. Or maybe it was the rum talking.

She knew that partly, it was. But she didn't mind. Caleb was a little drunk, but he was happy, and that was what mattered most.

Caleb desired freedom, and he was brave enough to go and get it if he had the chance.

If he was able to leave his mother, who was on her own, why wasn't she able to leave her parents, who always had each other and their friends.

She didn't know. But maybe, a small part of her felt sad by the idea of leaving the Pearl behind, too.

It was so difficult.

''You should be free, Sophia. If you want it, you can. You don't need a destination, you don't need money. All of those things come later on. You're young. You have the time and the enerugy. But one day, you're going to be old and grey and you'll regret not going''.

Again, Sophia knew he was right. She learned that Caleb was a very mysterious but very wise twenty year old. He was a good friend to her.

''You're extraordinary, you know that?'', Sophia whispered.

Caleb smiled. ''And you're beautiful'', he answered.

Sophia laughed loudly and looked at the bottle of rum in the grass next to Caleb. There was one sip left in it, maybe.

''You're drunk'', she chuckled, and Caleb nodded immediately.

''I might be!'', he started. ''But you know what they say about drunk people?''.

Sophia shook her head and looked at how Caleb moved in closer to her.

He pointed his finger at her face and squeezed his eyes together slightly.

''Drunk people tell the truth''.

Sophia smiled widely and looked into his mesmerizing blue eyes.

Before she had the chance to answer to his witty comment, Caleb softly placed his fingertips under her chin, moved in even closer, and placed his lips on hers.

A warm, fuzzy feeling shot through Sophia's veins and for a short second, she had absolutely no idea how to react, but when she got aware of Caleb's soft lips against hers, she didn't even hesitate.

Her eyes closed, her hands found Caleb's face and her body automatically moved closer to Caleb's until their chests touched. And their lips moved together like they'd never done anything else.

The best thing was, though, that if felt right. It felt so, so right to kiss each other. There was no tension, no awkwardness. Their kiss was soft, loving, sweet, with an undertone of desire and Sophia knew very well that she was hooked.

Both of them refused to let go. When Caleb tried to move away, Sophia pulled him back, and Caleb smiled widely against her lips.

Finally, their lips parted, but the tips of their noses still touched.

''I think I might be in love with you'', Caleb said with a grin.

Sophia laughed.

''You think?'', she chuckled.

''No. I know'', he answered, and with a swift movement, he pulled Sophia back in for a second kiss.

 **(I have to thank you, for your endless support and your help because without it I wouldn't have continued this far. I appreciate you guys very much. Feel free to leave tips, comments, or suggestions about what you might want to see happening. I always take your comments into consideration. There's more very cool chapters to come. Expect the unexpected! x).**


	30. Chapter 30 - John Jefferson II

**Chapter 30.**

 **(I'm so so sorry for the slow updates! I'm in my last two weeks of school and I really need to get my shit together before the semester ends. Thank you for being so patient)**

Halfway through the month of May, the time came for Will (and Sophia) to return to the sea. Though Sophia had only spent a week and a few days with Elizabeth and Caleb, she'd gotten attached to them. She'd gotten to know them as Will's wife and son, but also as her father's friends, and it was difficult to say goodbye to them.

Well, especially to Caleb. After their kiss, Sophia didn't know what to think. After a night of twisting and turning, she finally gave in and admitted to herself that yes, she did have feelings for Caleb Turner, but she wasn't so sure about him.

First of all, he was drunk. Drunk people cannot control their actions or words. Second, she and Caleb had only known each other for a week and a half. And third, how could this.. well, them, possibly work out? She was a pirate, a daughter of the ocean, he was used to the land. And even if all of those things didn't matter, she would barely see him.

All of those things, those doubts that Sophia struggeled with, added up to the fact that her goodbye with Caleb was.. well, strange. It wasn't necessarily awkward but.. close. Caleb took her hand in his and placed a kiss on it, promising to see her again soon. Sophia had only smiled and nodded. Then, she'd turned to Elizabeth and said her goodbyes.

Caleb was surprised, to say the least, that the girl he'd kissed the night before, suddenly became so distant towards him. If it were up to him, he would've bound her to a palm tree so she couldn't go. He liked her.. very much. Those eyes, those big, brown, mysterious eyes, they did something to him.

Three and a half hours later, Sophia and Will stood on deck of the Flying Dutchman. Sophia had her eyes shut, a big smile on her face as she soaked in the sun, the seabreeze and the droplets of salt water that splashed against her skin.

Being back on a ship felt great, natural.

She wasn't used to being on the land.

''I don't understand why that creature let you go'', Will suddenly said.

Sophia immediately opened her eyes and turned towards him, shrugging her shoulders.

''I will not complain'', she answered with a sly smile, and Will laughed softly.

Though he had a smile on his face, Sophia noticed something sad in his eyes, and she knew what it was. He hadn't seen his wife, or his son, in ten years. And when the day arrived that he could go see them, it seemed so long, it seemed like forever, but very quickly, the hours passed, and before he knew it, he was back on the ship. And Will knew, as well as Sophia, that he would have to wait another ten years.

And well, there come's a certain uncertainty of life with being a pirate. As a pirate, you never know if you'll see the next sunset.

When Will said his goodbyes to his family, Sophia had turned away and walked towards the sea. She didn't want to invade on their privacy, but she could see things. She saw, for example, that Elizabeth was trying really hard to keep it together, for Caleb, maybe, but she was struggeling. Every once in a while, a single teardrop would escape from her long lashes.

Will wiped them away, every single one, and kissed her face all over, but it wasn't enough to console his wife.

She knew too that today was the start of a ten year wait, and she didn't even know if she would ever see her husband back again, alive.

Caleb succeeded in keeping it together, though Sophia could see the pained expression on his face. He didn't cry, but he clung to his father like a little boy. Will held him for at least five minutes, in silence, just holding him tight. Finally, he kissed his son on the forehead, planted a soft kiss on Elizabeth's lips, and then he turned around and joined Sophia.

''Are these first days the hardest?'', Sophia asked softly.

Will looked up at her, slightly surprised, but nodded finally.

''If you ever have a family, Sophia, you'll understand how this eats me up inside. I cannot promise them I will return. I'm cursed to live forever, but most curses can be rewined. And even if I do, a day is nothing. Every day, I ache for my wife's hands and her smile, and I wonder about my son. What will become of him?''.

Sophia smiled and softly squeezed in Will's lower arm.

''Caleb is one of the bravest, smartest people I have ever met in my life. I know he'll take good care of himself, and of Elizabeth''.

Will smiled and nodded slowly.

''Your parents don't know your alive'', he suddenly said.

Sophia was caught off guard by this remark. She'd known, of course, but it sounded, almost like a reproach.

''They haven't been doing so well, Sophia'', Will continued.

''What? Why?'', Sophia asked immediately.

''Well, for starters, they believe that their only child has been eaten alive by a mermaid. Also, your father blames himself, and your mother.. well she has to put the blame somewhere. Jack seems to be the chosen one''.

Sophia's eyebrows went up immediately. Her father blamed himself for her death, and her mother agreed with him. That was basically what Will had told her.

She knew very well that she had to get back to the Pearl as soon as possible, and she had to fix this.

Because, truly, Jack Sparrow and his beloved Angelica needed fixing.

In the days after what they thought was their daughters death, Jack and Angelica had drifted apart. After the 'incident' (Jack punching Angelica), she had distanced herself from him more than ever. As a result, Jack became more and more convinced of his guilt. And when Jack Sparrow feels pain, sorrow, grief, he drinks to forget.

And that was exactly what he did. Four days after Sophia's 'death', Jack ordered Gibbs to set sail to Tortuga.

As Jack drowned himself in alcohol and slept with every woman in his sight, Angelica withdrawed. She refused to talk to Jack, to Gibbs, or to anyone. She locked herself up in her chamber below-deck with nothing more than her anger and grief.

And every time Jack came back to the ship with an empty bottle of rum in his right hand and his torn shirt in his left, Angelica's anger grew.

Though she would never admit it to Jack, at least, not in this state, she loved him. And it made her so, so angry, that while she was grieving over the loss of their daughter, he was sleeping around and numbing himself with rum. The anger she felt over the bruise on her face couldn't even measure up to the anger she felt over Jack's behaviour.

And for Jack, well, rum was the only thing that could make him feel better.

He had come to accept the fact that Sophia's death, the death of his baby girl, was his fault. That he had failed to protect her, once again, and that he was a terrible father.

The only way to deal with that pain was to bury himself in alcohol, and between a women's legs.

He didn't know, though, that he had caused a whole lot of trouble.

At least, not yet.

In the late afternoon of May 14th, Gibbs walked into Jack's cabin, without knocking, and disturbed something not worth describing.

''Cap'n! Cap'n Jack, you-'', Gibbs started, but as soon as he saw what Jack was up to, he awkwardly cleared his throat and turned his head.

Jack's mouth parted from the bare breast of another strange woman, who started laughing as Jack rolled over her to turn to Gibbs.

''Aye, master Gibbs - this ain't the right time, mate'', Jack said with a sly grin.

''I'm sorry, cap'n, but there's someone here to talk to you, said it's urgent'', Gibbs answered without removing his gaze from the door.

''Does that 'someone' happen to be female and naked?'', Jack answered.

Gibbs noticed his captain's speech was slow, slurred. He didn't have to look at Jack to know he was wasted.

''No-'', he started, but Jack cut him short.

''Not interested then!'', he yelled as he rolled over and grabbed the naked body of the young blonde next to him.

''Cap'n, please, it's important and-'', he started, but again, he was cut short. This time, however, it wasn't Jack's yelling or the woman's giggling, it was Angelica's powerful, furious voice.

''JACK!'', she screamed as she stormed into the room.

When she saw the naked woman that Jack was passionately making out with, she flinched for a short second, and Gibbs saw a very swift flash of pain go through her eyes, but she recovered immediately.

''Get down there, now!'', Angelica hissed at Jack.

Jack looked up at her and smiled. ''Love, I'm busy'', he said, and he immediately planted his lips back on the woman's face.

Angelica didn't even hesitate one second. With fast pases, she walked up to the bed, grabbed Jack by his hair and pulled him up.

''Aaahh!'', Jack exclaimed painfully.

''You're coming with me, now'', she said. Angelica grabbed his shirt and pushed it into his hands. ''Put it on!''.

When he didn't react, Angelica grabbed a cup of water that stood by the bed and threw it in Jack's face.

Jack closed his eyes as droplets of cold water dripped from his face. As the water woke him up a little bit, he slowly put on his shirt.

Meanwhile, Angelica threw the woman's dress in her face and ordered her to leave. Feeling offended, the woman made a bitchy remark towards Angelica, saying she was acting like a jealous wrench. As a result, Angelica grabbed the woman by her blonde locks, pulled her towards the door and kicked her out, naked.

''Leave'', she hissed. The woman tried protesting, but when she saw Angelica's eyes, she quickly shut up, wrapped her dress around her and hastily ran away, into the harbor, while men whisteled at her and eagerly tried to pull off her dress.

Immediately, Angelica turned towards Jack and looked at him with pain in her eyes.

''What have you done to yourself, Jack?'', she whispered in her Spanish accent.

Jack chuckled, took her chin in his hand and looked her straight in the eye. ''This is who I am, love. Take it or leave it'', he mumbled.

Angelica looked at him for a short second, then pushed off his hand and walked away, onto the deck.

Jack was still drunk enough that he couldn't stand upright, so Gibbs grabbed him by the arm and carefully guided him out of his cabin, down the stairs, onto the deck, where the crew was gathered on one side of the ship.

''What's going on?'', Jack said as he stumbled across the deck, looking at his crew.

No answer. The crew looked at him, that's all. They kept their mouths shut, in their eyes there was only dissapointment and worry. Some of them had stopped worrying a long time ago. Some had already given him up, but were too kindhearted to tell him that.

''Jack Sparrow!'', someone suddenly called out from behind Jack.

Jack slowly turned around and frowned.

''You forgot the captain part, mate'', he said.

''Captain my ass!'', the man answered.

Even though he was drunk, there were certain things that Jack wouldn't tolerate. One of those things was fat, grey-haired men telling him that he is no captain. He had a ship, he had a crew, that makes him a captain, dammit.

''Who the hell are you and what are you doing on my ship?'', Jack asked, raising his eyebrows.

The man looked at Jack and laughed mockingly. ''Look at you. You've completely ruined yourself, or whatever was left of you''.

''That still don't answer my question mate'', Jack answered in a scarily calm tone.

''My name is John Jefferson II, VOC main merchant and you- you are Jack Sparrow. Very infamous among me and my men''.

For a few seconds, there was absolute silence. VOC merchant, on their ship? That made no sense. VOC men killed pirates if they pleased, they wouldn't socially interact with them.

Besides the shock, the disbelief, suddenly there was also fear.

''No offense, John.. Jefferson, was it? - Well, mate, I'm not interested in whatever you have to offer, I can assure you of that'', Jack answered.

John Jefferson smiled widely.

''Do you not have a daughter?''.

Silence. Absolute silence. Jack looked at him with big eyes, first, they were filled with pain, but very soon after, they lit up with fire.

''She's dead'', he growled furiously.

Jefferson tilted his head a little and smiled as he walked closer to Jack.

''That's weird. I could've sworn I met her. Seventeen, am I right? Sophia?''.

Something inside of Jack snapped when he heard his daughter's name. No one had said her name out loud since her death.

In absolute fury, Jack tried to get to the man, his hands reaching out to Jefferson's throat, but Cotton and Pintel immediately dragged him back, and because Jack was still somewhat drunk, they easily restrained him.

''Shut up about her'', Jack growled.

Jefferson knew he hit a soft spot, and he smiled widely.

''See, this morning, about six hours ago, my men came across a ship called the Flying Dutchman. My ships circled them, imprisoned the men on it, but with them was a young girl. She wouldn't tell me who she was until I beat it from her mouth, but she gave herself up as Sophia Sparrow. She was with William Turner, who I believe is a friend of yours'', he explained.

The crew immediately started talking through each other, as Angelica and Jack froze and looked at the man in utter disbelief.

''You're lying!'', Angelica screamed, and two crewmembers had to stop her from attacking the merchant.

''If you think so, I'll be happy to kill her off. The truth is, though, Sparrow, that I'm not after you or your family. Not this time. Turner, however, he's made it very clear not to be in favor of my blooming company. And as you know, those that are not in favor, are against. And enemies of the VOC need to be taken down''.

''You want me to trade my best friend for some random girl?'', Jack laughed mockingly. ''Go ahead, cut her head off if you please. My daughter is dead''.

As he spoke the words, his heart broke a little, but he knew it was the truth. Sophia was dead, and he wasn't nearly drunk enough to rat out his only friend.

''This is how we'll do it, Sparrow. I'll be back with the girl, tonight. If she's not yours, I'll have her killed. If she is, we'll make a deal'', Jefferson said with a sly smile.

As he walked away, Angelica made one last failed attempt to attack him, but again, the crewmembers held her back.

''Oh'', Jefferson said as he turned around and smiled at Jack. ''Don't even bother leaving Tortuga''.

''My men are everywhere''.


	31. Chapter 31 - Hold your Enemy Closer

**Chapter 31.**

Hours passed. Angelica, Jack, and the crew, were all waiting for John Jefferson to return to the Pearl. Neither of them knew if the girl he'd bring could really be Sophia.

When Jack thought of his daughter, all he felt was pain. All that went through his mind were her eyes. Her big, brown eyes filled with fear as that mermaid creature dug her nails into her and dragged her overboard. He could still hear her screaming. He could still hear Angelica screaming. All that he had when he thought of his little girl, was pain and terror. Two emotions he didn't know how to deal with very well.

Jack sat behind his desk, in his cabin, tracing a worldmap with the tips of his fingers. The Black Pearl still hadn't set sail to a final destination. They'd been in Tortuga for at least a week.

Suddenly, there was a soft knock on the door. In came Angelica, her dark long hair tied together in a braid, her eyes tired and empty.

''What are you doing?'', she whispered.

In the hours that had passed since Jefferson's visit, Jack had sobered up, and that was the first time since Sophia's death. He'd constantly been drunk. Now that he wasn't drowning in rum, he noticed the exhaustion on Angelica's face, and the pain in her eyes. And for the first time in a long time, he felt guilty about it.

Jack smiled a weak smile and tapped on the map. ''We can't stay in Tortuga forever''.

Angelica walked towards his desk and sat down on it. She took the map from Jack's hands and studied it, causing a wrinkle to appear between her dark eyebrows.

''Do you have anything in mind?'', she asked, and Jack slowly shook his head.

So Angelica put the map down again, looked at the man in front of her and softly bit her bottom lip. That man, that captain, used to be the man she craved for. The man for whome she'd given up everything. Now, she didn't know anymore. He was the father of her child, surely, but besides that, she felt no relationship with him anymore. After a week of watching him drown in alcohol, seeing him dragging strange women up to his cabin, after not talking and the death of their child, she couldn't possibly still feel anything for him.

She didn't even hate him anymore.

''Do you think it's her?'', she asked suddenly.

Jack looked up from the map and stared at her for a few seconds. He hoped so, he wanted the girl to be Sophia more than anything, but hope is a tricky thing.

''Don't get yer hopes up, love'', Jack said with a sigh.

''She used to be so small, so tiny. You could hold her with one arm'', Angelica said with a smile, slowly gazing off in the distance.

Jack looked at her and saw a small smile come across her pillowy lips.

''She was the best thing I have-'', she started, but halfway through her sentence, Jack saw her dark eyes fill with tears. But Angelica was used to being tough, so she swallowed it back and closed her mouth.

Jack raised from his chair, walked around the desk and carefully reached out for Angelica's hand. She let him take it, to his surprise.

''Whatever happens, whether she is alive or not, we have this bond, Angelica. This pact. You can hate me if you like, but you cannot deny what we have together. We have her''.

Angelica looked up to him and immediately pulled her hand from his.

''We have nothing together. Not anymore, Jack'', she answered softly.

As she stood up from his desk, Jack felt pain flinch through his heart. He knew that she meant it.

Right when Angelica pulled open the door, Gibbs came storming in.

''He's here''.

Immediately, both Jack and Angelica left the chamber, walked down the steps and onto the deck. Next to the mast stood John Jefferson, four of his heavily armed men, and in front of them, two people. A young man and a young girl. Their hands were tied behind their backs with rope, a sack was pulled over their heads.

Jack couldn't immediately tell who they were, but before he had the chance to think about it, Jefferson and two of his men stepped forward, blocking the view.

''Have you sobered up, Sparrow?'', Jefferson grinned.

The two people behind him started moving anxiously, but Jefferson's men had them under control very quickly.

Jack didn't answer Jefferson's question.

''Let's get this over with. Show me their faces'', Jack hissed.

The crew gathered together on one side of the ship, moving and whispering nervously. Neither of them knew if the people behind Jefferson were really Will and Sophia. They'd been blocked from their view and added to that, it was getting dark.

''You remember our deal, yes?'', Jefferson asked.

''Fuck your deal. Show me'', Angelica said angrily, and Jack couldn't help but smile a little. Her Spanish accent got more noticeable whenever she got angry.

Jefferson smiled, nodded, and turned around slowly. He positioned himself between the two people, looked at Jack and Angelica's faces, smiled again, and then pulled the sacks from their faces.

The entire crew gasped, some froze, other's just stood their with a look of confusion on their face.

Jack's muscles suddenly refused to work. Angelica cried out and put her hands over her mouth as tears filled her eyes.

Right in front of them stood Will and Sophia.

Sophia's eyes were filled with fear, but also relief. Tears streamed down her face, which was covered in bruises, blood and cuts. A gag was tied around her face so she couldn't speak, but Jack saw her bottom lip tremble.

Will was beaten up equally as bad, but unlike Sophia, he had his jaws clenched together and refused to give away any sign of fear.

When Jack looked into his daughter's eyes, he saw the same kind of terror as when she was pulled overboard, and some sort of fire started burning inside of him. His child, the one girl he should have protected all his life, he had failed. Not now. He wouldn't fail her again.

Immediately, he pulled his gun and pointed it at Jefferson's head. Jefferson's men pulled their guns and pointed it at Jack and Angelica. As a result, the crew of the Black Pearl immediately drawed their weapons too and pointed them at Jefferson and his men.

''Give her to me'', he growled as tears filled his dark, furious eyes.

''So she is your daughter. I was right'', Jefferson said, and he smiled a complacent smile.

Jack didn't answer. He pulled back the pin, the gun clicked, and all around him, he heard clicks from other guns. He wasn't alone. His crew would never doubt him. If he shot, they shot too.

Angelica, who desperately tried to fight back the tears, was the first to speak.

''Let her go. Please'', she whispered, calm as possibly.

When she looked at her daughter, who was beaten, bruised and bloody, all she felt was hatred and she wanted to rip Jefferson's head off, but he had control over them all.

''I made you a deal, Sparrow'', Jefferson answered, angry, all of a sudden.

Two of his men immediately turned their pistols and pushed them to the back of Will's and Sophia's head. Will didn't even flinch, Sophia wailed softly and closed her eyes.

''Do we have a deal, or not?''.

Jack's heart was racing in his chest. All he saw was the gun pointed at Sophia's head, the tears rolling down her cheeks. He was in pain. His daughter was alive, somehow, she had survived, she'd come back to find him and Angelica, and now some fat VOC merchant wanted to take her out of this world?

Jack was never going to let that happen.

''New deal. You hand her, and the deckape next to her, over to me, or I'll blow your brains out right now''.

Maybe he'd die in the act, but his crew would not let Jefferson and his men go unharmed.

Jefferson grinned. His guns clicked, and Sophia's eyes shot open. Her eyes immediately went to Jack's.

''I'll make you an even better deal'', Jefferson answered.

''You give me Will Turner, and the location of his family-'', he started.

All of a sudden, Will unfroze. He looked at Jack with big, begging eyes as he fought against the grip of Jefferson's men.

''- and I will not take your lady out too''.

Before Jack understood what that meant, one of Jefferson's men grabbed Angelica by her arm, threw her onto the deck and put a sword to her throat.

And immediately, Jack was taken years back. To the moment that Nathaniel George forced him to choose between Angelica and baby Sophia. In that moment, he had been weak, he couldn't choose, and he ended up losing them both.

''I'll give you five seconds to think about it'', Jefferson added, as if he was doing Jack a great pleasure.

Will started shouting something as he tried to fight Jefferson's men, but because of the gag in his mouth, Jack couldn't understand him. Though he knew exactly what he was thinking.

''Five''.

Sophia wailed loudly and shook her head when she caught Jack's gaze, but Jack immediately looked away.

''Four''.

He remembered Angelica, gurgling in her own blood, on his deck, years ago. Though she might not love him anymore, he still loved her. And he wasn't going to lose her again.

Angelica said nothing, but the sharp blade on her throat caused her eyes to fill with fire.

''Three''.

Jack had already lost his family once before. Now, he had his daughter and the woman he loved back. He could save them-

''Two''.

-but he had to give up his best friend, Elizabeth, and their son to do so.

''One''.

Pistols clicked, swords raised into the air, the crew yelled for orders, Will fought hard, though Jefferson's men beat him down. Sophia cried and Angelica said nothing, she just stared at the dark sky above her.

Jefferson sighed. The men that pointed a gun at Sophia and Will pulled back the triggers, the sword above Angelica's throat came crashing down.

No, not this time.

''DEAL'', Jack called out. ''Deal, I-'', he stammered softly. ''I'll give you what you want. Just don't hurt my family, please'', he whispered powerlessly.

Jefferson smiled widely and ordered his men to slowly put their weapons down. Jack did the same.

He'd saved his child, he saved his crew, the woman that he loved, and himself, but he'd doomed Will and his family to die.

''That's a deal, then'', Jefferson smiled. ''Great doing business with you, Sparrow''.

Everyone on deck was absolutely silent. Even Will, who had just been given up by a man he thought he could trust, didn't know what to do.

''So tell me, Sparrow-'', Jefferson said as he slowly walked towards him. ''Where are they?''.

Will softly exclaimed a sound that sounded like 'no', but Jack ignored him. He couldn't look him in the eye. He knew very well what he'd done. But it was his family or Will's, and he'd lost his family one too many times.

''Maribelle Island. A day from here'', Jack answered with his jaws clenched together.

All hope faded from Will's eyes. Tears filled the emptiness in them and everybody on deck could see his body weaken.

Jefferson smiled and nodded.

''Go get them, boys. We have a lot more scum to terminate'', he said as he looked straight into Jack's eyes.

With a quick movement, Sophia and Angelica were thrown to Jack's feet, and Jefferson's men pulled Will to his feet.

Like he had been set on fire, Will started fighting. He kept growling, trying to call out to Jack, trying to punch the men that dragged him along, but his hands were tied, literally. Will was powerless. He couldn't do anything to save himself or his family.

As Jefferson and his men dragged Will along, his screams faded, his fighting weakened untill he completely dissapeared into the darkness of the night.

And as Jack went through his knees and pulled Angelica and Sophia close, he knew Will wouldn't ever be able to hold his family close again like Jack was doing now.

 **\- Oh oh, seems like Jack simply can't have it all. Tell me your thoughts about this, I'm curious to know how you feel after reading this. What will happen now?**


	32. Chapter 32 - A Pirate's Price

**Chapter 32.**

Jack knew what he had done. He knew he had betrayed one of his very few friends and though it hurt, he also knew it would've destroyed him if Angelica and Sophia'd gotten hurt. Will Turner meant a lot to him, truly. He had become a part of the family, and because of that, it seemed very unlikely that Jack gave Will up. But captain Sparrow had experienced the loss of his family before. He'd seen Angelica drown in her own blood, he could remember how he viciously attacked general Nathaniel George when he took Sophia away. If he had to go through that again, he wouldn't survive.

But as minutes passed and the sky turned darker, no one on deck of the Pearl moved a single bone in their body. The crew were frozen to the wooden boards beneath their feet. None of them could believe that their captain, THE Jack Sparrow, betrayed his best friend like that.

Even Sophia, though she clung on Jack's shirt and cried on his shoulder, though she felt relieved, happy, to be back on the Pearl, couldn't believe it. She'd grown up with Will. She'd met his wife, Elizabeth, and Caleb. Oh.. Caleb. Her mind immediately wandered of to the blue-eyed young man and how he'd kissed her, the night of his 20th birthday.

''Dad'', Sophia exclaimed with a soft cry.

Jack looked down at his daughter, swallowed hard to fight back the tears in his eyes and managed to force a smile at her. He softly kissed her hair as he pulled Sophia and Angelica closer to his chest.

''No-'', Sophia started softly. She started wiggling her way from her father's arms, so she could look him straight in the eye. ''Dad, please'', she whispered.

Jack saw her eyes, big and brown and filled with tears, and his heart broke a little more. He'd missed her. He'd thought she was dead and now here she was, right in front of him, within arms reach, bruised but safe. But still, the joy that he felt was overshadowed by the grief.

''It's fine'', Jack answered softly. He knew it wasn't fine.

Angelica, who'd kept quiet until now, looked up at Jack, placed her fingers on the side of his face and turned it towards her.

''Jack'', she softly said. ''You cannot do this. You know that it's wrong''.

Of course he knew. And it tore him to shreds. He saw Will being dragged away as he fought, kicked and screamed but nothing worked. And he knew that Elizabeth and his son, Caleb, would undergo the same fate as Will. They'd be taken to court for piracy, for stealing, murdering, anything the court could shove on their shoulders. There'd be a 'trial', that would last, maybe, if they were lucky, ten minutes. And then they'd be executed.

Jack knew all of this. And still, he made the decision to choose himself over his friend.

''I can't loose you again'', Jack answered to the both of them. His voice sounded hoarse, which gave away that he was fighting against the tears.

It broke Angelica's heart to see him like that, with a pained expression in his eyes. She'd not seen an emotion in his eyes ever since Sophia's 'death', and though she had prayed, nights and nights, to see some kind of emotion again, this wasn't what she wanted to see.

''We have to save him, dad! We have to!'', Sophia called out.

Jack and Angelica turned their heads to their daughter. She looked bad. She had a cut on her cheek, a busted lip and bruises all over her neck and face. Combine that with the tears rolling down her face, and you get to see a heartbreaking sight.

''Sophia, please, try to understand. I've lost you one too many times. I cannot go through it again'', Jack replied with his jaws clenched together.

''Cap'n'', Gibbs suddenly started.

''Me and.. well- a few of the men, we all agree this ain't right. With all due respect, Jack, but Will's been by ye side ever since ye met 'em'', he said slowly.

Jack's fingers dug into Angelica's side, and Angelica could suddenly see the pain in his eyes change into anger. He wasn't angry with any of them, she knew. He was angry with himself. And that was even more dangerous.

''We can still save them, dad! Please! We can't let them die!'', Sophia cried.

The crew started mumbling, nodding and talking restlessly. They agreed with her.

Meanwhile, Angelica tried to grasp Jack's attention and calm him down.

But all Jack heard was the buzzing around him. Sophia's crying, begging, Angelica's spanish voice softly talking to him, the crew discussing loudly, and it became too much.

Without any sign of warning, he jumped to his feet, almost knocking Angelica and Sophia over.

''WE CANNOT SAVE THEM''.

Everyone on deck fell silent. They looked up to Jack with wide eyes.

''It's too late. It's too dangerous'', Jack added. Then, he turned around and walked up to his cabin.

Sophia quickly jumped to her feet, suddenly angered by her father's stupidity, and just as Jack walked into his cabin and smashed the door shut, she screamed; ''THEY ARE OUR FRIENDS''.

But Jack didn't listen. The door closed, and it stayed closed.

In the afternoon of May 19th, life on Maribelle Island was still quite slow. Caleb had started the day off by doing some repairs on the cabin, while Elizabeth managed to collect food for that evening. And as the day continued, they sat on the beach, they talked, they enjoyed a few mangos and stared at the cloudless sky.

Temperatures were rising again and Caleb had walked around without a shirt for almost two days now. Every night, he'd wash the sweat of his back in the ocean, he'd wash his clothes, hang them to dry and he'd go to sleep.

And every night, he dreamed of the same thing. He dreamed of Sophia, and he wondered where she was, if she'd made it back to her parents. Had she followed her dream to explore the world? Most importantly, would he ever see her again?

He couldn't tell exactly what he felt for her. All he knew for sure was that when he thought of her, something inside of him fluttered.

''What's on your mind?'', Elizabeth asked with a curious look.

Caleb snapped from his thoughts, looked at his mother and smiled. ''Nothing important'', he answered.

Elizabeth knew when her son was lying to her, but she also knew not to keep asking Caleb about something if he didn't want to talk about it.

Of course she knew it had something to do with Sophia. Being Jack and Angelica's daughter, how else could it be? She had Angelica's Spanish looks and Jack's charms. Elizabeth knew Caleb had fallen for her. He just didn't know himself. Yet.

''What's that?'', Caleb asked suddenly.

Elizabeth followed his gaze towards the sea and frowned when she saw three large ships approaching the island.

''I have no clue'', she admitted.

She and Caleb both raised from the warm sand and walked a little further onto the beach. The ships were approaching fast, but Elizabeth couldn't figure out who they were, though she saw something familiar.

''What would they want here?'', Caleb frowned. Elizabeth didn't answer. She didn't know.

After a few seconds, longboats were lowered into the water. Six of them, filled with at least four men each, and they started rowing towards the beach, fast.

When Elizabeth layed eyes on the uniforms, she froze. It felt as if she couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. They'd found them. The Royal Army. She knew very well what that meant. She and her son were pirates now, and pirates were executed by the Royal Army.

It seemed as if all she could do was watch the longboats get closer.

''Mom?'', Caleb asked when he saw the expression on Elizabeth's face.

She didn't answer.

''Mom, what's going on?''.

Elizabeth watched how one of the longboats drifted onto the shore, and suddenly, she unfroze.

''Run'', she answered. Caleb frowned. ''Run, what?''.

Elizabeth grabbed his hand, turned around immediately, pulled up her skirt with her free hand and started running. Caleb didn't hesitate. When he heard the yelling behind him, he sprinted towards the trees, his mother right by his side.

They ran and ran, but the yelling behind them didn't fade. Caleb had seen their pistols, their swords, and they were right behind them.

''WHO ARE THEY?!'', Caleb yelled as he dodged a branch.

Elizabeth couldn't answer, she was running as fast as she could but suddenly stopped when they passed their cabin.

''MOM!'', Caleb yelled.

She totally ignored him, turned around and ran into their cabin. Caleb anxiously stood waiting as the yelling grew louder.

''MOM'', he yelled again.

He didn't know what on earth she was doing, but he wasn't going to leave her behind. He had no idea who those men were and why they wore leggings, but he wasn't waiting to find out.

The bushes started shaking heavily, the sound of yelling grew louder and at the exact same moment the first soldier appeared from the trees, Elizabeth ran out of the cabin. She had a linnen bag wrapped around her shoulders.

Immediately, she grabbed Caleb and ran. And neither of them hesitated. But the ground under their feet was unstable, the temperatures pressed on their sweaty skin, it took their breath away, and whatever Elizabeth was carrying slowed her down.

They managed to outrun the men chasing them for quite a while, but suddenly, Elizabeth tripped. Her ankle snapped, and with a scream of pain, she collapsed onto the ground.

Caleb immediately turned around and ran towards her, but then, he saw the uniforms coming through the bushes.

Desperately, he tried to pick Elizabeth up from the ground, into his arms, but he couldn't. Before he lifted her up, four men stood before them, breathing heavily, their guns pointed at Elizabeth and Caleb's heads.

Neither of them dared to move. They had nothing to defend themselves with, nothing at all.

Then, a chubby, grey-haired man in a uniform that was too tight, appeared from the large group of men. He had an arrogant grin on his face and slowly walked towards Elizabeth and Caleb.

''Well.. well'', he smiled. ''Elizabeth Turner and her boy''.

Elizabeth leaned onto Caleb, her ankle felt too painful to stand on.

''Who are you?'', she hissed, trying to catch her breath.

As the group of men grew, Jefferson's smile grew too.

''Jack Sparrow wants me to give you his regards''.

Elizabeth frowned, but before she could ask what that entailed, the fat man barked an order and she was pulled away from her son.

As one of the men threw her down, the pressure on her ankle increased and Elizabeth screamed. As a result, Caleb tried to get to her, but the soldiers held him back. When three men pulled Elizabeth up by her hair and started pushing her towards the beach, Caleb panicked.

Who were these people? Why were they here? What does Sophia's father have to do with this? What does Sophia have to do with this? Most of all, what do they want?!

Those questions raced through Caleb's mind, and he intended to find out.

But as soon as he stepped forward to approach the men, four of them lashed out.

With uncontrolled, vicious beatings and kicks, they brought Caleb down to the ground. He fought back as hard as he could, but four against one was no match. They kicked him in the ribs every time he tried to get up, when he opened his mouth, they punched him in the face.

Pain flashed through Caleb's body and he tried to fight, desperately, but all he could do was take it. He felt his bones ache, he tasted his own blood.

When he heard Elizabeth screaming, further away, he attempted one last time to get up. The soldiers laughed, watched how the young man pulled himself up by a tree, they watched how he opened his mouth to reach out for help and they watched blood drip from his face, but as soon as Caleb stood upright, one of the soldiers stepped forward and smashed the end of his gun onto Caleb's head.

He stood no chance. As the soldiers laughed and spit on him, Caleb collapsed onto the grass, and everything around him went pitch-black.


	33. Chapter 33- Shadows on the Wall

**Chapter 33**

The following morning, Will was awoken by a bucket of icewater that was thrown over his body. He immediately sat upright, gasping for air as the water poured over his skin and drenched his clothes.

''Morning, mister Turner'', an all too familiar voice said.

When Will looked up, batting his eyes against the sudden bright light, he looked straight in the face of John Jefferson II, who held an empty bucket in his hand. The grin on his face said it all.

They'd gotten to Elizabeth and Caleb.

Will's stomach immediately turned, suddenly he felt sick.. his heart ached and it felt as if he was going to throw up, but before he had the chance, two of Jefferson's men marched into his cell and dragged him onto his feet.

''I'd like you to say hello to our new guests''.

At that exact moment, six soldiers came marching through the dark hallway, pushing along the two people Will _didn't_ want to see right now.

His body weakened. They could have his crew, his ship, they could have him too, but not his family. Not his wife, not his son.

Before he even had the chance to react, Elizabeth spotted her husband and started screaming his name. Like a mad person, she fought against the grip of the men that held her and she managed to punch one of them in the face, but very quickly, the soldiers regained control and dragged her away until her screams faded.

''Elizabeth'', Will exclaimed helplessly. His voice sounded soft, weak. Nothing more than a sigh caught in the wind.

''DAD''.

Will immediately turned his face the other way and saw his son, struggling against the arms that held him back. ''DAD!'', Caleb tried again. Will couldn't answer. The sickening feeling in his stomach returned. He felt so powerless, so weak, so useless.

''DAD!'', Caleb screamed, again and again. Will wanted to say that everything was going to be alright, but he couldn't. He couldn't protect the two people he cared most about, and that realisation shredded his heart to pieces.

Caleb kept kicking and fighting to get to Will, but just like they did to Elizabeth, Jefferson's men dragged him away until he couldn't be seen or heard.

''See'', Jefferson started. ''I'd love to get you all in one cell, but there's simply not enough space''. He said it with a sigh, as if he truly regretted it.

When Will looked up at Jefferson and saw the smug grin on his face, his blood started boiling. He growled, pulled one of his arms loose and lashed out. Just in time, Jefferson took a step back and started laughing as his men threw Will to the ground and kicked him in his ribs.

He gasped for air as an unbearable pain pulled through his already aching bones.

''Do not worry, mister Turner. You will see your family again-'', Jefferson continued. He ordered his men to leave, kneeled down next to Will and grabbed him by his hair, forcing the exhausted young man to look at him.

''-at your execution''.

Jefferson raised from the ground and started laughing as if he'd just told a good joke. Then he turned around, locked the cagedoor and dissapeared, leaving Will on the stone floor of his cell.

Will's blood was boiling, he felt murderous, but his body had been so gravely beaten that he was too weak to act on his anger.

That evening, when the sun was slowly dissapearing behind the sea and the sky turned dark blue, Angelica and Sophia sat on the Pearl's railing, their legs dangling overboard.

Jack hadn't left their side ever since Sophia returned, though his daughter refused to talk to him. She was dissapointed in her father. And it wasn't only her. The crew, as well as Angelica, couldn't understand what Jack had done. They couldn't believe that their witty captain, who always had some sort of plan, abandoned his best friend and his family.

Gibbs, who knew Jack better than anyone, finally convinced Jack to leave Sophia and Angelica alone for a while. He, Jack, Pintel, Ragetti and Marty had gone into town to restock the ship's foodsupply.

The setting sun gave the two women on the Pearl something angelic. It made their dark eyes light up and their hair catch a golden glow.

''Can I ask you something, mom?'', Sophia whispered softly.

Angelica turned her face towards her daughter and smiled softly. ''Of course''.

Sophia hesitated for a bit, but she needed to know. She needed to hear this. ''Do you love dad?''.

Caught off guard by her daughter's question, Angelica stared at Sophia in surprise. A few seconds went by as Angelica repeated the question, again and again, when she finally came to the conclusion that yes, she did. She still did. After everything Jack had ever done to her, she still loved him, more than she could ever love any other man. She loved him ever since he first looked at her.

''Yes. I do..'', she finally replied softly. ''Very much''.

''How do you know?'', was the next question.

Angelica swallowed hard against the lump in her throat.

How do you know? She had to think about that for a while.

''When you love someone, _mi querida_ , you would do anything for that person. No matter what happens between you, or how often he hurts you, you still choose him. When their happiness is more important to you than your own, and the word _love_ is not enough anymore. That is how you know'', she whispered.

Sophia saw the sad expression in her mother's eyes and softly took her hand.

''You should tell him, mom. If this is how you feel, don't give up on him yet''.

Sophia had noticed the tension between her parents, of course. But she also saw how Jack looked at Angelica when her mother couldn't see. He looked at her like she was the most beautiful thing.. like she was the sea. And maybe, to him, she was. As unpredictable, dangerous, wild and beautiful as the sea could be, Angelica could be too.

Angelica seemed surprised by her daughter's comment, but then softly smiled and pulled Sophia in for a hug. '' _Te amo_ '', she whispered in her daughter's dark hair. Sophia smiled and wrapped her arms around her mother a little tighter.

''I love you too''.

Jack, Gibbs, and the other three pirates returned to the Pearl two hours later. Each of them carried a basket that was filled to the top, each basket different. Jack carried a basket that was filled with bread, Gibbs carried bottles of rum, Marty's basket contained fruit, Pintel's spices and herbs, and the last basket, carried by Ragetti, was filled with luxury items like cigars, chocolate and small pies.

''That's a lot of food'', Sophia called out from the rudder. Gibbs looked up and laughed. ''All we had to do was threaten a lil'', he grinned.

Pintel, who walked behind Gibbs, put on a so-called scary face and pulled his hand along his throat. Sophia smiled at them and watched how they dissapeared below-decks.

''Put 'em here'', Jack said, pointing at the corner of the tiny cabin. As the pirates put down the baskets, Jack turned around and walked away. ''Enjoy your evening'', he called.

Ragetti frowned. ''Are ye not stayin' for a game of cards, cap'n?'', he asked.

''Yeah! All the boys are joining'', Gibbs added.

''We'll have a drink, play a few cards, it'll be fun!'', Marty smiled.

Jack looked at his crew and smiled slowly. ''Not tonight'', he answered. ''Have fun!'', he called out as he walked away.

Though the rest of the crew felt dissapointed and a little confused, Gibbs smiled as he watched Jack dissapear. He knew what he was going to do, he knew it very well.

So as the crew gathered below-decks for a game of cards, Sophia retreated in her cabin.

The night was dark, the sky was clouded, so Jack made it his duty to light the lanterns around the ship. While he was doing that, Angelica appeared and slowly walked up to him.

''Jack'', she said.

Jack stopped what he was doing, slowly turned around and looked straight at Angelica. Her face glowed in the warm light of the lanterns. As his eyes traced the freckles on her skin and the laughter lines around her full lips, a warm feeling of love pulled through his heart, quickly followed by the piercing feeling of regret.

''I have to tell you something, Jack''.

Jack shook his head. ''No. I have to tell you something, Angelica. I do not-''.

Angelica immediately interrupted. ''Jack-''.

''I know that I do not-'', Jack started.

''No, Jack! Please, I-'', she tried again, but Jack was too stubborn. Neither of them were going to let the other say something first.

Jack tried again, but Angelica stopped him.

''JACK'', she called out. Immediately, Jack fell silent, and when he saw the pained expression in her eyes, he was overcome by a feeling of guilt.

''You've hurt me!'', Angelica yelled. The pain in her eyes suddenly paired with anger. Jack swallowed hard. ''How could you do that? How could you abandon me when I thought my daughter was dead?! How could you betray me with all those women?!''.

Whenever Angelica was angry, the Spanish tone in her voice would become even more obvious, and though Jack normally liked getting her angry a little bit, he felt nothing but guilt this time.

''I never meant-'', Jack started, but Angelica didn't give him a chance.

''No. I love you, Jack! Why can't you see that?!'', she yelled. Halfway through her sentence, her voice broke and tears filled her eyes. ''I have always loved you, but you keep hurting me, and I don't want to feel that anymore!'', she cried out.

My God, Jack thought to himself. How could he have been so blind? He searched for love, for passion, for danger and loyalty in every woman he ever encountered when it was always right by his side. All he wanted combined in one person, this woman, right in front of him. She loved him, and he kept destroying her.

Jack couldn't help it, but he had to fight against the tears that came to his eyes.

''I want you to love me always.. or not at all'', Angelica whispered as tears rolled over her cheeks.

Jack's bottom lip trembled softly. He cleared his throat and blinked against the tears in his eyes, but then looked back at Angelica.

''I-... I know that I've hurt you. Over and over again. I know I'm not what you hoped me to be. But I _can_ be, Angelica. I promise I can'', he whispered softly.

''Then show me'', Angelica hissed.

Jack, without any sign of hesitation, placed his hand on her cheek and carressed her lips with his thumb. When Angelica looked up at him and their eyes met, Jack wrapped his free arm around her, pulled her against his chest and placed his lips on top of hers.

Angelica placed her hands on Jack's chest and let him pull her even closer. She'd missed the feeling of his arms around her, so much. Their lips moved together in a way that revealed nothing other than love. His hand in her hair, his arm around her waist, her body pulled against his chest. It was as close as she could possibly be, but it wasn't close enough for either of them. And as he kissed her, lovingly, in a way that he could only kiss Angelica, he realised what he wanted.

Just her.

The floor beneath Caleb's body felt cold, ice-cold. His bones were aching, his lips were dry and his white shirt was drenched in blood and sweat. Less than an hour ago, two guards came in and started beating him. Caleb suspected that it was Jefferson's order, just to make sure he wouldn't try anything, and he had to admit, it worked. If he had any chance of escaping before, it was gone now. The pain made it impossible for him to move. Even laying down hurt.

He stared at the wall before him, unable to sleep. His mind wandered off, to his parents, who were here somewhere. Had the guards beaten them too? How was his mother's ankle?

He suddenly snapped from his thoughts when he heard rapid footsteps coming his way. Like a beaten animal, Caleb flinched. He desperately tried to get up, but his bones wouldn't allow him too. He had no way of defending himself. All he could do was crawl into a corner and hope they'd leave him alone, but by the time he moved halfway through his cell, he was out of breath.

A shadow appeared on the wall, and as the footsteps loudened, the shadow grew bigger.

Caleb looked around his cell, he needed something to protect himself with, but there was nothing. Nothing but cold, stone walls.

The shadow grew larger and larger until suddenly, it stopped. A figure, dressed in a hooded mantle that reache to the floor, stopped in front of his cell. Caleb couldn't see a face, which scared him even more.

''Leave me alone'', he growled.

The figure kneeled down, before the cagedoor.. and took of its hood.

Moonlight shone straight down onto the figure's face, and Caleb froze.

''Sophia'', he exclaimed. Immediately, he tried to get to her, and though every bone in his body screamed for rest, he kept moving.. well, crawling, until he sat right in front of the cagedoor.

Sophia smiled a weak smile and hooked her fingers around the bars of the door. ''Caleb'', she whispered. When she saw Caleb's face in the moonlight, beaten, bruised, bloody, tears filled her eyes.

''I'm so sorry'', she whispered.

''Don't be'', Caleb answered softly, and he swallowed hard to rehydrate his mouth. ''It's not your fault''.

The moonlight that shone on Caleb's face made his already blue eyes seem even brighter. His blue eyes, his dark curls, his british accent, it made Sophia's breath catch.

''Who did this to you?'', Sophia asked as she looked at Caleb. The tears in her eyes were both of regret and anger.

Caleb smiled, carefully reached out and laced his fingers together with Sophia's.

''You need to leave, if they catch you here-''.

''I don't care'', she answered abruptly.

As he looked at the young girl's face, Caleb couldn't help but think about their kiss, that evening on Maribelle Island.

''What are you doing here, Sophia?''.

This time, it was Sophia that smiled. ''I'm going to help you'', she answered.

Before Caleb had the chance to ask what she was planning, Sophia jumped to her feet, grabbed a pistol from under her mantle and shot it through the hallway.

The gunshot bounced of every wall and the sound grew louder with each echoe.

''What are you doing?! They'll hear you!'', Caleb hissed as he pulled himself closer to the cagedoor.

Sophia didn't answer. As soon as the gunshot sound dissapeared, there were footstepts. Hasty footsteps and yelling. Guards were rushing through the hallways, but Sophia didn't move.

''SOPHIA, GO!'', Caleb yelled. She didn't respond. ''SOPHIA'', he tried again. Nothing.

The yelling loudened, and within seconds, six guards came running across the corner.

Sophia didn't even hesitate. She raised her pistol, pointed it at the first guard she saw and shot. The bullet went right through his shoulder. The guard screamed out in agony and fell to the ground.

For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Caleb sat frozen at the cagedoor, his eyes widened, his mouth half open. Even the guards didn't know what to do.

But then, Sophia dropped her pistol. It clattered onto the ground, and the guards immediately responded. All five threw themselves onto Sophia, throwing her to the ground. Sophia fought back, but it was no use.

''SOPHIA! HEY! LEAVE HER!'', Caleb growled at the guards, but no one seemed to heard them.

They threw her against the wall and she stopped fighting. She looked up at the guards, blood dripped from the side of her head, but then she smiled. And as soon as she smiled, the guards reacted. One of them turned his gun around at hit her on the head with the end of it.

The last thing Sophia heard before everything around her went dark was Caleb, shouting her name.

Things had gone bad for too long.


	34. UPDATE

**UPDATE**

Hi guys! I know I haven't posted a new chapter in a very, very long time and I wanted to let you know why.

I am NOT quitting the story, so don't worry about that.

But this past month and this upcoming week have been/are crazy for me. I've been studying my ass of for finals, I've been travelling and right now, I'm in the middle of losing someone very dear to me to cancer. This person has a very special place in my heart and could die any minute. The doctors give her a week, maximum. So for now, I have to take the time I have left to be with her and enjoy her presence because it's going to be gone forever very soon.

I'm sorry for the depressing message, but this is what's going on. I promise to update again as soon as I have the energy/the time.

Thank you for sticking with me,

M.


	35. Chapter 35 - Jack is Back

**Chapter 34.**

 **(Quick update; I'm back! It's been a rough couple of months and I've been absent for a long time, but I'm back now, with chapter 34. I hope you enjoy it as much as the rest of this story. Love x)**

May 21st was a day that started very different for a lot of people. Will Turner woke up on the stone cold floor of his cell, knowing that this was the day he was going to be executed. The only thing that gave him the energy to sit upright was a feeling of hatred, burning deep in his heart. Elizabeth had stayed up all night, desperately trying to get out of her cell, but nothing worked, and when the sun came up, she was exhausted. Caleb had been fighting against the bars all night. Ever since he saw Sophia being dragged away by a bunch of guards, he hadn't stopped trying to break free. He tried desperately to pull a loose rock from the wall. He'd cut open his fingertips as a result. And Sophia, well, she'd been knocked out, and she stayed out untill the wee hours of morning.

She wasn't sure of her plan, but she refused to do nothing.

Angelica woke up in Jack's arms, who was still asleep when she sat upright and put on her boots. She woke him up, and like every other morning, they walked onto the deck to get some fresh air before breakfast.

Every one was there, the crew was complete, at least, that's what they thought until they sat down to eat.

''Sophia's sleeping in, aye?'', Gibbs said as he passed around a bowl of apples.

Jack looked up from his meal and nodded slowly. He couldn't blame her. He knew this was rough for her.

Angelica knew that her daughter's feelings for Caleb Turner were a little more complicated than what they seemed like. She saw in Sophia's eyes that her anger and desperation to save him and his parents wasn't only fueled by moral standards. It was also fueled by affection.

''She'll get here when she's ready'', Angelica said, and so ending the conversation regarding her daughter.

But two hours later, when Jack stood at the rudder, a map in his hands, and the crew was cleaning the ship, Sophia still didn't appear from her cabin.

''Why don't you go see where your daughter is, before that frown stays there'', Angelica jokingly said as she walked up to Jack.

Jack looked up from the map and squeezed his eyes together. ''Are ye saying I've got wrinkles?''.

Angelica simply shrugged and took the map from his hands. ''Just go talk to her, Jack. This is not only difficult for us. It is for her, too''.

Jack sighed softly and nodded. ''Fine'', he muttered. He knew that this was extremely rough for her, and he hadn't slept well, knowing his best friend, his wife and their son were locked up in some cold, dark cell, waiting for their execution. He wanted to help them, he did. He wanted to come up with some witty plan and save all three of them, but he was too afraid of losing his own family. He'd lost them before and he couldn't go through that again. It would kill him.

So, Jack made his way below deck, towards Sophia's small cabin, and he knocked on the door twice. When he didn't get an answer, he sighed softly, but tried once more. Again, no response.

''I know you're in there, love'', Jack spoke softly.

Silence.

''And I know this is difficult for you. Like it is for me. But you have to understand that I do this because I love you. I cannot lose you again. Or your mother. You understand that, right?''.

Jack waited five seconds, ten.. fifteen, and twenty, but there was still no answer. No sign of life.

An alarm went off in his head, and Jack pulled open the door. When he saw the empty hammock, his heart skipped a beat. Immediately, he turned around and walked onto the deck.

''Where's Sophia?!'', he called out.

The crew stopped what they were doing and looked up at Jack's tense expression.

''In her cabin?'', Pintel muttered, as if it made perfect sense.

Jack cursed loudly and put his hand to his mouth as he stared towards the town.

''What is going on?'', Angelica asked as she joined the others.

''Cap'n can't find Sophia'', Marty answered simply.

''She's gone'', Jack whispered as he looked at Angelica.

They looked at each other for a second, and both of them knew that something was terribly wrong. Sophia wouldn't just dissapear, that was not an option. Was she kidnapped?

''Actually'', Ragetti started, nervously pulling on his collar. ''I think I saw her leaving.. in the night''.

Jack's face immediately turned to his crewmember and he walked towards him, standing an inch away from him.

''You saw her?!'', he grawled.

Pintel swallowed and quickly nodded. ''Y-yeah.. she wore a hood and I- I was just gettin' some fresh air, cap'n. I ain't think much of it''.

Jack grabbed Pintel by his shoulders and pulled him even closer. ''Where did she go?!'', he hissed.

Shaking, Pintel put up his hand and pointed towards the town. ''T-there'', he stuttered.

Jack followed his aim and his eyes widened. Slowly, he started putting the puzzlepieces together. Sophia's desperation, her anger, the way she retreated to her cabin so early in the evening. She hadn't agreed with his choice, in fact, she hated it.

''She's given herself up'', Jack said with clenched jaws.

Angelica looked at him like he was the goddamn Kraken. ''What? What do you mean? Where is she?!''.

Jack turned to her, a vein in his neck was throbbing. ''She's sneaked into the townhall and she gave herself up to Jefferson and his men''.

Angelica's face turned pale. ''Why?!''.

''She's forcing us to save her. And Will. And Caleb. And Elizabeth'', was the simple answer.

Everyone on deck fell silent and looked at each other in absolute confusion. Was this girl very brave or very stupid? Many weren't sure.

''We have to go. Now!'', Jack ordered as he walked towards the side of the ship. He knew pirates were going to be executed at exactly 12. They had no time to loose.

For a second, the crew stood still, but when they saw their captain leaving the ship, pulling out his sword, everyone knew it was getting serious.

''AYE, LET'S GO!'', Gibbs yelled.

Simultaniously, they yanked their swords from their belts and walked right after their captain.

As they moved through Tortuga, towards the townhall, with drawn swords and a determined captain leading them, more and more citizens started whispering. As the pirates approached, they pulled back in their houses and shops.

Good, Jack thought to himself. He was going to have to kill some people, but he'd rather have it be Jefferson and his men.

He felt angry, but for some reason, he also felt relieved. He had the opportunity to save his best friend, his daughter, and Caleb. He had an opportunity to get rid of Jefferson once and for all, and he was going to take it.


	36. Chapter 35 - May 21

**Chapter 35.**

It was dark. Sophia was sitting on the edge of a cliff, looking towards the sea, and the lights of passing ships, dancing on the calm, dark waves. It was soothing, for a reason. But she wasn't alone. She felt a presence, by her side, and when she felt a gentle hand touch her shoulder, a smile appeared on her face.

''Caleb'', she whispered.

Caleb went through his knees and ran his fingers through Sophia's dark hair. He didn't say anything, he simply looked at her with a soft smile. His wild hair and his beautiful blue eyes were mesmerizing to the young girl.

''I've missed you'', she said softly.

The young pirate's smile widened and he ran his thumb across Sophia's bottom lip.

''We can leave'', he said in his British accent. Sophia raised her eyebrows, and Caleb continued. ''We could leave, together. We could steal a ship, travel the world. Isn't that what you want?''.

Sophia swallowed. She wanted to say yes. She wanted nothing more than to travel, with this young, beautiful pirate whom she was so madly in love with.

''I know what you desire'', Caleb said with a mysterious look on his face. ''You desire freedom. Above all else. I can give you that, Sophia''.

The girl felt taken aback. He knew her well. He'd proven that before. She was in love with him. She did want to be free. She did want to travel. So what was holding her back? What was keeping her here, when all she wanted to do was step on a ship and let the wind carry her away?

Pirates were free. They were careless. They were proud of their home. Their home was wherever they needed it to be.

Sophia was a pirate.

So she nodded. ''I'll come with you'', she decided.

Caleb smiled, stood up, reached out her hand to her and waited patiently.

But then, before their fingertips could touch, a wave of icecold water splashed over Sophia's body. Her breath was suddenly cut off, she gasped for air and her eyes flew open.

''Wake up, you filthy rat'', a gruff voice spoke.

When Sophia's eyes adjusted to the light, she saw two guards standing in her cell.

''Get up'', the same guard commanded.

Sophia looked at the pistol in his hands and clenched her jaws together as she slowly got up from the stone floor. Every single bone in her body was stiff and icecold.

As soon as she stood upright, the guard yanked her by her shirt and pulled her from her cell, pushing her through the hallway.

''Where are we going?'', Sophia demanded to know.

The guards laughed scornfully.

''The exterminator'', one of the guards grinned. ''You dirty cockroach''.

The guards pushed her through the hallway, passed the cells, and Sophia noticed that all of them were empty. Will, Caleb and Elizabeth were gone. Fear struck her right in the heart. Were they dead? Had they already been executed? Was she going to be executed? Of course she knew that there was a possibility of her plan backfiring, but she had no time to prepare. No time to accept what was going to happen.

Suddenly, she was pushed up a stairs, and the light that shone on her face blinded her to the point that she had to cover her eyes.

As soon as she reached the top of the stairs, a deaffening roar arose. When Sophia opened her eyes, she was standing on a wooden platform, above a crowd of hundreds of people. Some threw stuff at her. From rotten fruit to something that looked like feces. A rotten apple hit her right in the face, and the crowd cheered happily.

''HANG HER'', someone roared.

''WORTHLESS!'', she heard someone yell.

''STRIP HER NAKED'', a middle aged man with a filthy grin said.

Sophia felt scared. She couldn't deny it. The angry crowd wanted her dead. They wanted to see her dangle from a rope, struggling to breathe. Before she knew it, the hangman grabbed both of her wrists and tied them together with rope. He was wearing a mask that covered his face, but it didn't stop Sophia from trying to get to his emotions.

''Please'', she whispered. ''Please let me go''.

The hangman said nothing. Instead, he grabbed her by her neck and pulled her towards the gallows, until she stood face to face with a dangling rope.

''PLEASE'', Sophia cried out, but the hangman ignored her. She was just another piece of trash to him. Just another worthless human being to get rid of.

The crowd went wild when the hangman put the rope around her neck.

And they absolutely lost control when three other pirates were pulled onto the stage. Caleb, Will, and Elizabeth. Or at least, what was left of them. Caleb and Will were bruised. They both had bruises on their faces, their arms and hands, and Caleb's fingertips were covered in dried blood. But when he saw Sophia, he somehow found the strength to swing at the guard that held him back.

When the guard kicked him down, hundreds of people started cheering. Will, Elizabeth and Caleb were lined up, their wrists were tied together with rope and swords were pushed into their backs, to prevent them from running.

Sophia's eyes filled with tears, but she refused to cry. The prideful part of her refused to let these people, these horrible, mindless people, see her pain. These people had been controlled by others their entire lifes. They had been told lies about pirates. They had always hated pirates, it had been imprinted in their minds since they were born. They didn't know how to think for themselves.

And then, there was silence.

Sophia looked to her left and saw John Jefferson II standing on the platform, with a papyrus roll in his hands.

''People of Tortuga'', his voice echoed. ''The riffraff standing on this platform have been convicted of multiple crimes against her Majesty's Crown. For their crimes, which include piracy, theft, murder, rape, and violence against the King's Guard, they have been sentenced to death by hanging''.

And again, the crowd went wild. Objects flew trough the air and hit the four pirates right in their face. At some point, Sophia felt something sharp cut her arm. She couldn't see what it was.

She slowly turned her head towards Caleb and couldn't help but shed a tear when she saw the helpless look in his blue eyes. ''I'm sorry'', she mouthed to him, and she saw that although the young pirate shut his eyes, a tear rolled from his cheek.

''HANG HER!'', the crowd roared silmutaniously. They chanted it, they cheered it, they sang it as if it was a party.

And suddenly, the ground dissapeared from beneath the young girl's feet.

She heard Elizabeth scream.

The rope tightened around her throat and cut off her air supply immediately.

The crowd cheered, clapped, screamed and cursed as they watched Sophia's body dangle from a rope.

Sophia heard the bones in her neck crack and she desperately hoped that her nack would snap before she'd suffocate.

Her lungs started to burn, she kicked and kicked and kicked, trying to find ground to stand on, but it wasn't there. From the corner of her eye, she saw Caleb fighting a guard, that easily threw him to the ground, again and again.

She wanted to scream at Caleb. ''STOP IT!'', she wanted to shout. ''Don't hurt him!''.

But she couldn't. The air in her lungs was gone. Her throat was burning. Her veins were throbbing. She lost sensation in her legs. And then, suddenly, there was an explosion. A flash of light, a bang, screams from the crowd and shattering pieces of wood that flew through the air, followed by gunshots.

The crowd turned restless. People started screaming, running. They trambled each other on the way towards the exit. There was another explosion. More gunshots. Guards started running, desperately trying to locate the source of the attack.

But the source was all around them.

Jack, Angelica, and the Black Pearl's crew had gathered around the square and made their way up onto the roofs, where they had perfect aim, and perfect shelter.

Will's men had forced their way into the crowd of people and had stirred up some chaos by making two barrels of gunpowder explode.

And it worked, because in the utter chaos, it was the perfect time to safe four pirates in need. The guards were distracted, Jefferson had rapidly made his way back into the cellars, and the hangman had taken cover behind the wooden platform. Jack had two pistols in both of his hands. As he climbed on top of the roof, he aimed for the rope above Sophia's head and fired.

Once. The rope frayed.

And when the second bullet flew through the air, the rope broke. Sophia could suddenly breath again, but gravity pulled her down. She dropped 8 feet, onto a stone floor, and as soon as her head hit the pavement, everything went dark, and she slipped back into the same dream that she was so rudely woken up from just half an hour ago.

''CALEB!''.


	37. Chapter 36 - Good to see ye again!

**Chapter 36.**

Jack Sparrow had previously refused to do something about the Turner's unfortunate situation, but now, as he fired bullets to break the ropes that suffocated his friends, he had to admit that it felt great to be back. This is what made captain Jack Sparrow. As his men stormed the crowd, Jack and Angelica took it upon themselves to make the guards and executioner dance. Their bullets flew at their feet and their heads, causing the men to dance like puppets on a string. And if they quit dancing, they'd die.

''Gibbs!'', Jack roared as he slid down the roof and onto his feet. He threw his pistol towards Gibbs and immediately pulled his sword, pushing it through the chest of the first guard that came running towards him. ''Fool'', Jack muttered as he made his way to his friend.

''Gather the Turner's and Angelica and make way to the Pearl'', he ordered.

''But Sophia and you-'', Joshamee Gibbs started protesting.

''Will be right behind ye!'', Jack called out as he stormed into the crowd of screaming people.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Angelica fight of two guards at the same time, and with a proud grin of his face, he threw his remaining pistol towards her. ''Shoot 'em dead, love!'', he cheered, right before he crawled under the wooden platform.

And there lay his daughter. Unconscious, bruised and battered. Immediately, an uncontrollable desire to kill came over him, but he knew what his priority was. Getting Sophia out of this mess. Getting her and the others to the ship and leaving this far, far behind.

Although he loved to get a rise out of the King's Guard and every other monarch in tights, it wasn't just him involved now.

Every single move that he made would have an effect on his girl, Angelica, and their daughter. He trusted himself enough to purposely get into trouble, knowing that he'd scheme his way out with the help of his crew, but now that he had these two people by his side, he wouldn't dare take that risk. He wanted, above all, for them to be safe.

''Sophia'', Jack said as he patted his daughter on the cheek.

Here eyelids trembled shortly, and a soft moan came from deep down her throat.

''Get up, doll. We oughta go''.

When Sophia slowly raised her head from the cold stones, Jack noticed a wound on the side of her head, and it was bleeding heavily. The platform above his head shook under the pressure of the fight happening on top of it, and grains of sand and dust fell down onto Jack and Sophia's heads.

''Aight'', Jack groaned as he wrapped his arm around Sophia. ''If I have to carry ya, I will''.

He lifted her up from the ground, over his shoulder, and started walking. As bullets and fists flew all around him, he put all of his faith in his crew to keep off the guards as he carried his daughter through the crowd, towards the gate that separated them from freedom.

Three hundred meters. Maximum. They would be in the harbor within three hundred meters. They could make it, but they'd have to be swift.

''Gibbs! Pintel! Ragetti!'', Jack roared. He saw the three men running towards them.

''Go!'', he ordered. ''Hoist the colours!''.

''Aye!'', Gibbs roared. The three men lifted their swords into the air and started running, towards the harbor.

To his left, Jack saw Angelica, who supported Elizabeth as she ran after Gibbs, Ragetti and Pintel. To his right, the captain spotted the rest of his crew, dragging Will and Caleb along. Elizabeth, her husband and son all seemed exhausted. They struggled to keep walking, and their safety was primarily dependent on how fast the pirates that carried them could run.

Like the others, Jack struggled to fight off the guards and get Sophia to safety, but unlike the others, he didn't have anyone to cover for him anymore. His crew was making their way towards the harbor. Towards the Black Pearl, and therefore towards freedom.

But if you knew Jack, you'd know he wasn't one to give up easily. As the last member of his crew, Cotton, ran past him, Jack grabbed his arm, handed Sophia over to him and ordered him to get her to safety. As soon as Cotton started walking, Jack turned around, pulled his sword and attacked the guard closest to him.

Angelica was one of the first to arrive to the ship. ''Get up!'', she yelled at Elizabeth. Elizabeth slowly obeyed and collapsed as soon as she set foot on the deck.

''Pintel!'', Angelica called out in her famous Spanish accent. ''Where's Jack?!''.

Pintel looked up from his work and shortly gazed in the distance. ''Oh – oh'', he stuttered. Angelica immediately turned around to see what he was looking at, and when she saw captain Jack, way back in the distance, fighting off a handful of guards at the same time, while other guards were making their way towards him as well as the Pearl, her heart skipped a beat.

''Ready to sail!'', Gibbs roared from the rudder.

Angelica's eyes flashed from Joshamee Gibbs, who was waiting for an order, to Cotton, who was just climbing onto the ship, with Sophia in his arms, to Jack, visibly struggling to escape.

''Hold'', Angelica said. She pulled her pistol, pushed Ragetti out of her way and started walking.

''Aye, but-'', Gibbs exclaimed nervously.

''HOLD IT!'', Angelica roared and without a single doubt, she ran towards the guards. Gibbs looked at her in utter disbelief for a second, exchanged a look with the rest of the crew and finally yelled; ''Don't just stand there, deck apes! Draw ye swords!''.

Within seconds, the crew threw themselves on the guards, and the vicious fight continued.

At that exact moment, Jack noticed the amount of guards around him, and he realized his chances of survival became smaller and smaller with the second. And then, all of a sudden, he heard Angelica screaming. But it wasn't a helpless, agonizing scream. When he turned his head, he saw how Angelica jumped on the back of one of the guards and pulled her blade across his throat, leaving him to bleed out on the pavement.

His heart couldn't help but flutter for a second, and the two of them, like the team that they were, took on the countless guards. The air was filled with their roars, the sound of their swords clattering against those of their attackers and the screams of the ones that fell.

And when the crew joined in, the pirates were unstoppable. They ravaged and roared, destroying every single guard around them, until the very last one threw his hands in the air as a sign of surrender.

Jack couldn't help but grin. ''That's right'', he said as he pointed his sword to the young man. ''Mind yeself, boy. You can try.. but you can never catch-''.

''Jack!'', Angelica called out anxiously. Behind the last guard a group of angry citizens came running. In their hands they carried axes, knives and spears.

''Cap'n Jack Sparrow!'', he quickly added. Then he turned around and sprinted straight after his crew, towards the Pearl.

''And don't ye forget it!'', he screamed as he hopped onto the Pearl.

It didn't take long for the crew to regroup. They picked up their old habits as Jack shouted orders at them and within a minute, the wooden plank that connected the ship to the land plunged into the water.

The four unconscious members that were laying on the deck of the crew were awoken by a bucket of water, and they suddenly sat upright. Elizabeth, who, up until now, had the looks of a dead body, jumped to her feet. She had a look in her eyes that resembled the eyes of a mad man, or a starved dog who'd just spotted a juicy bone.

As soon as she found her balance, she sprinted towards Jack and punched him right in the face.

A simultaneous ''auch'' sounded through the air, and Jack pressed his fingers onto the bridge of his nose to stop it from bleeding.

''What is wrong with you?!'', Elizabeth screamed.

''I wish I knew, love'', Jack answered. Immediately, Elizabeth went in for another punch, but Gibbs and Pintel quickly pulled her backwards.

''You left my family to die! You left us all! You coward!'', she screamed, kicking and fighting to free herself from the two men that were holding here back.

''How dare you?!''.

''Listen-'', Jack started as he cracked the bones in his nose to make them go back to their original position. ''We saved you, didn't we? Ye here now. With ye boys. Nothing to complain about, love''.

Elizabeth looked him in the eye for a short second, then pulled the gun from Gibbs' belt, pushed him aside and pointed it at Jack's head.

''I will kill you, Sparrow''.


	38. UPDATE II

**UPDATE**

Hi guys!

I have a quick update for you that I'm sure some of you are not going to like, but I also need your help, so please keep reading.

I've decided, after a long debate with myself, to stop writing this POTC fanfic. I've gotten bored with the story and I don't want to force myself to keep writing, because that would result in a whole bunch of bullshit.

However, I am currently writing another fic, based on Dark Shadows (for all my fellow Deppheads out there ;)). Here's the link if you want to check it out; s/11761496/1/Dark-Shadows-When-the-light-disappears

Even though I'm quitting this particular POTC fanfiction, I do really want to start a new one. Since I've had a lot of fun writing this one and reading your reviews, I care about your opinion a lot. Therefore, I need you guys to tell me, either in a private message or in the comments, what you want to read from me. If you guys really want to read more Pirates of the Caribbean, I'm even willing to start writing a new POTC fic, but please tell me what you want to read.

Examples can be:

An Alice in Wonderland/Dark Shadows/Lone Ranger/Blow fanfic

POTC fanfic where Jack Sparrow turns out to be gay/ falls in love with Elizabeth / meets a unicorn

I'm leaving this all up to you. It can be as wild as you want it to be and about (almost) everything :)

So let me know what I can interest you with

Also, thank you all so much for your support and love throughout this fanfic, I appreciate it more than you know.


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